Title: Chapter Nine: A Great Release

Series: Emesen’s Child

Author: Jennifer Lee

Email: jesca10@attbi.com

Web: http://home.attbi.com/~jesca10/ *Fictitious*

Disclaimer: All characters are the property of the author and are not to be reproduced without express consent.

Rating: NC-17 (little bit of sex)

Summery: Sometimes it's either let go or drown.

Author’s Notes: Please email me if you want to put this or any of my stories on your website. I never say no, but I like knowing which sites are supporting my writing. Thanks!



Emesen’s Child 9: A Great Release
by Jennifer Lee

The cool water felt good on Sandy’s skin. Since last night’s dinner she had been avoiding both Ori and Darien. She woke up at five in the morning, like usual, and went for her usual run. She liked to run in the morning. It gave her the opportunity she felt she needed to reflect on the day before and to think about the goals she wanted to reach on that day. Of course, this morning, all she could think about was dinner last night.

After running, she went back in the house to change into a riding habit. She put her bathing suit on under it, not sure, but hoping she’d find some place to swim. She managed to escape the house with a horse without running into father or son.

She rode for the better half of the day, but she finally figured her horse needed a rest. She found the pond that she was sure was the swimming hole from Darien’s stories of childhood, but she didn’t want to go someplace where she might run into him. She lucked out when she found a pond that was secluded from sight by some bushes. It was fed from a stream that ran through the property.

After seeing that her horse had something to drink, she tied the animal to a tree, letting it graze while she slipped into the cool water.

The pond wasn’t large, but it was surprisingly deep. It was a bright blue color, and she was glad to find it clean and refreshing. She didn’t swim so much as she floated in the water, letting cool fingers of the pond lap over her skin, cleaning off the exertion from the run and ride. Her two-piece blue bathing suit allowed for the water to touch most of her skin. She had contemplated taking off the top of her suit, but while she was floating with her eyes closed, she wasn’t sure she wanted to do that.

Her caution was rewarded when she heard someone coming towards the pond. The bushes hid the person from view momentarily, and she started to become concerned. What if she had wondered off of the Maine land? In her earlier state, she hadn’t thought of that possibility, but she didn’t know these parts well at all. She certainly didn’t know where his boundaries were, and she had been riding for a long time.

When Darien came into view she wasn’t sure if she should be relieved or disappointed. She just looked at him while keeping herself afloat in the middle of the pond. His expression was contrite and it made Sandy want to listen to him.

But Darien didn’t start talking. Instead he started undressing. Sandy’s eyes widened a little bit and she watched him as he removed his clothes. His moves were very deliberate and gave her plenty of time to stop him, but she didn’t.

One thing she really liked about Darien Maine was his body. His skin was dark, almost like a Native American. His body was patched with dark hairs and he was in excellent shape. Sandy liked the way he differed from Gabe. Gabe had been so fair and blonde. She thought she preferred Darien’s darkness to Gabe’s golden.

After removing all his clothes, save his boxers, Darien slipped into the pond and dipped his head under the water. When he came back up, Sandy was still watching him, unsure what to do or say.

Darien watched her. He knew that she wasn’t going to respond to talk. When he started taking off his clothes, he half expected her to tell him to stop or leave. When she didn’t, he inwardly smiled, knowing that his timing was perfect.

When moments passed with neither doing anything but staring, Darien splashed Sandy. She hadn’t been expecting that, so she got a face full of water. She gasped and her eyes widened in shock. When she recovered she splashed him back, a smile creeping onto her face. He smiled as he splashed her again, but this time she turned her head and splashed him. Before she knew it they were in a full-fledged water fight, each trying to out-splash the other. Sandy splashed in the general direction of where she felt him splashing, keeping her head turned so she didn’t get water in her face. She wasn’t prepared when she felt her suit bottoms slip off of her.

In surprise she tried to grab for the bottoms, but Darien was holding them above her head. She tried splashing him, and he just closed his eyes, but kept them high. She tried tickling him, but that had no effect. She tried climbing up him, sinking him, but he only started putting his hands on her, making her squeal and swim to a safe distance. Finally she was left just swimming back and forth, trying to think of something. The smile on his face was making her forget even the remote possibility of giving up.

Finally, she dove under the water, and when she came back up, she had successfully wrestled Darien’s boxers from him. He had a big smile on his face, and she suspected he didn’t mind his nudity as much as she minded hers.

“Give me back my bathing suit, Darien.” She giggled a little when he wiggled his eyebrows at her. “I’m serious, now!”

“And you weren’t serious before?” he asked playfully.

“Darien Maine, give me back my bathing suit!”

“No.”

She made a frustrated noise before she tossed his wet boxers to the ground, quite a distance from them. He just shook his head and tossed hers to the same place. She watched them land, and missed Darien swimming for her until too late. She tried to swim away from him, but the pond seemed smaller with two people in it, so she really had no place to go. She laughed when he had her cornered and when he went under, she wasn’t surprised to feel his arms encircle her before he surfaced.

She put her arms around his neck and laughed at him.

“You’re a nut,” she stated to him. He only answered by wiggling his eyebrows again before leaning in for a kiss.

Sandy kissed him back and when she did she felt a stirring deep inside her. He had one arm out, steadying them in the pond, and she had both arms around his neck, pressing her half nude body to his. His other arm was around her waist, and it slowly went lower to play with the curve of her backside. The action only made her deepen her kiss, opening her mouth to his tongue completely.

Darien took the opening, and he pressed her against his body as he did. She wrapped her legs around his stomach and broke the kiss, leaning her head back. Darien’s mouth and tongue continued working across her neck. His tongue ran over the pulse point in her neck and she shivered, pulling him closer. His teeth gently dragged over the base of her jaw, under her earlobe, and continued across her jaw line until he got to her chin. His tongue traced its way back to her mouth and they kissed passionately.

Darien’s hand came up to untie the bikini top from around her back, and when the flimsy tie came undone, the suit top floated to the top of the water. Darien’s hand went to cup one of her breasts, his thumb teasing the pink nub to fullness. She moaned under his attention and arched her back towards him, her head falling back against the earth behind her. Darien took the opportunity to work his mouth downwards; finally able to close his mouth around the flesh his thumb had been visiting. The now free left hand went to the ground and freed up the right hand that had been clutching the side of the pond to keep balance, so Darien moved that hand down to cup the curve of her bottom.

Sandy’s mind was nowhere near a rational thought at the moment. She was lost in the affection Darien was giving her body and the way his mouth made love to her breasts. He took his time with each of them, making her body ache for him.

Darien knew he’d have to leave her to get out of the water. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep the both of them afloat while he was getting lost in her.

One minute she was moaning, pressed against him, and the next moment, she gasped when Darien lifted her out of the water. He sat her at the edge of the pool and when his mouth started kissing the insides of her thighs she breathed heavier as she laid back, her legs resting on his shoulders.

Her mind was filled with many thoughts but she couldn’t focus on any of them while he was making her feel this way. She felt her body building quickly towards a crescendo and when it was finally upon her, she jerked away from Darien, moaning loudly with her release.

Darien, used to the way she pulled away just before she released, allowed her to have her moment without his intrusion. But when she looked like she was coming down from her high, he pulled himself out of the water, on top of her.

Suddenly Sandy had one very fluent thought. She did not want to have sex with him. Thoughts of his father’s insistence that they have children filled her head, and try as she might, she couldn’t push them away. So while Darien was kissing down her neck she pulled herself away.

At his confused look, she gave him a smile that told him not to worry. He smiled back and crawled towards her. She put her hands on his chest and gently pushed him to the ground. She straddled his body and continued kissing him. He moaned and put his hands on her waist. She felt a little guilty because she knew what he was expecting, but she figured he’d like what she was going to give him instead.

Finally, when she felt worked up again, she moved down his body, kissing all the way down. When it became apparent what her intention was, Darien frowned slightly.

“What are you doing?” he asked, a little breathless.

She smiled shyly and bent down, running her tongue over him, making him groan. But he pulled away slightly, making her look up at him.

“Sandy, I want you.”

“Well, you’re getting me,” she smiled and bent down again, but he pulled away, yet again. He knew that with her it was either one or the other. He wanted the other.

“That’s not what I mean,” he said, placing his hand behind her head, trying to urge her back up.

She jerked her head away from his hand.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, a little shocked at his insistence.

“I want you.”

“Well, I don’t want that. Just lie back and enjoy this.” She smiled teasingly, “Not many guys would turn down this kind of attention.”

“Well, I’m not like other guys,” he said, a bit angrily. He pulled away from her, slipping his legs out from under her and swinging around to sit in an upright position.

“Darien, what’s wrong?”

“I want to have sex with you, Sandy. I thought I made that clear.” He stood up and went to his boxers, pulling them on. They stuck to his body and was painfully cold against his erection.

Sandy narrowed her eyes.

“And I thought I made myself clear. I don’t want to have sex right now.” She stood up and started to fasten the bathing suit top that was still hanging around her neck.

He smiled sarcastically and shook his head, pulling on his clothes.

“Look, the next time you’re mad at me and you want to get revenge, opt to not sleep with me before you start crawling all over me without your clothes on. It would be less cruel.” He grabbed his shirt, which was the only thing he lacked and disappeared through the bushes.

Sandy sat there, stunned. She walked over to her bathing suit bottoms and pulled them on. She couldn’t help the tears that slid down her checks as she heard Darien ride away.

*~*~*~*

Darien took his time riding around. He needed to clear his head of all the angry thoughts and he had a build up of energy he needed to release. He ran Demon around, nearly at full gallop the whole time, but the Arabian took the abuse well. Darien knew Demon was used to it.

After a while, he pulled Demon to a stop. He looked over to the other side of his father’s boundary into Carl William’s land. Compared to the many thousands of acres the Maine’s had, Carl’s puny twenty acres looked small. The land was sparsely dotted with structures, his rickety house, his falling apart barn, and his chicken coup made from pieces of the house and barn were the three main features of the land. There was also a small patch of land that was reserved for corn to feed chickens, but since Carl didn’t have any chickens, he also didn’t have any corn.

Darien knew that if it weren’t for his father’s generosity, Carl wouldn’t have this land. While Carl was at school, it made sense to him that he wouldn’t have to pay an electricity bill or a water bill. He wasn’t there. Darien knew that Ori paid these expenses while Carl was gone.

Truly, the small patch of land was nothing by comparison, but at the moment it seemed to have one thing that the Maine’s ranch didn’t.

Darien narrowed his eyes as he noticed Christie Stockwell’s car parked beside Carl’s old beat up International Harvester truck.

He urged his horse forward as he rode along the fence that separated the land. When he came to the end of the fence he rode Demon along the road to Carl’s.

He tethered Demon to the porch and smiled to himself to think that if Demon wanted to get away, he was probably strong enough to take down the porch. Darien noted the holes in the wood boards quickly before he looked up to the opening door.

Carl and Christie walked out and Christie looked surprised to see him. She hadn’t seen him since before the beginning of the year, when he had broken up with him (her?). She was still hurt by his admission that he had found another girl. She was very much in love with him, even now, she knew. She couldn’t find someone to replace him as easily as he seemed to replace her. But right now, the way he was looking at her, she questioned if he was happy with his choice.

Darien stared at Christie. He was prepared for her to be here, but now that she was in front of him, he couldn’t help himself. If possible, she had grown even more beautiful than the last time he’d seen her.

When he had broken up with her, she was in California, trying out for a small part in a movie. With her modeling career in full swing, she was practically a shoe-in. She was perfect for the part and very excited about it. When Darien called her, it was right before the audition. Upset, she was still able to pull it off, and she walked away with the part. Darien remembered feeling happy for her and wishing he could share in the good news. Since then, he had privately continued to collect her pictures, wherever they appeared, and he watched any small television parts she got. He was planning on taking Sandy to the movie she was in, when it came out. But he wasn’t sure what the future held for Sandy. At the moment, looking at Christie, he wasn’t sure he wanted a future with her.

“It’s been a long time,” Christie started.

“Too long,” Darien answered. He wanted to sweep her up in his arms, but he knew he couldn’t. He willed his feet to plant themselves. He could see she was having the same problem.

Carl smiled to himself. It was too easy. Bringing Christie back was the smartest thing he could have done. Carl knew that Darien and Christie were still in love. It was so very obvious.

*~*~*~*

After Sandy had dried off a little and quit crying, she pulled her riding habit back on. She led her horse back towards the house, not minding the time to walk and think. After a while, when it started to get dark and her stomach was growling, she got onto her horse and headed back to the stables.

As she passed by the fence separating Mount Royale from what she was sure was NorthStar, Carl William’s patch of land, she slowed her horse to a stop. Even in the darkening light, she could see Darien’s horse, Demon tethered to the house. She didn’t know Carl had come back to Mount River Valley. She smiled as she realized she might have found a friend while she was here, as ironic as that was. Her smile caught and faded, though, when she spotted and then recognized Christie Stockwell’s car. She remembered her driving that car back when she was in college with Sandy and Darien.

At the time, she was dating Darien, and Sandy remembered the way he teased her because his car was pitch black while hers was snow white.

She narrowed her eyes as thoughts of Tammy and Gabe floated through her head. What if Carl wasn’t back, and they were just using the abandoned house for a lover’s tryst. She remembered how frustrated and angry Darien was when he left her. She started to breath faster with her anger and urged her horse to a gallop. She was not going to let him make a fool of her like Gabe did.

She dropped the horse off at the stables, preferring to sneak up on the house on foot. It was a longer walk that she had taken into account, because she had to pass the barbed wire fence that separated the two places, but she didn’t really notice. When she was successful in getting up to the house quietly, she tried sneaking past Demon. He snorted a little, smelling her presence, and she spoke to him softly as she slowly went up the steps. A few steps creaked and she tried to take her ascent slower. She had just reached the top step when the front door swung open and Darien stood in the doorway.

Her eyes widened as if she was a criminal caught, but only for a moment.

“So, I say no and you meet up with your ex-girlfriend? Is that how it works?” she spat at him.

Darien furrowed his brows, not appreciating her insinuation. He had really enjoyed the time he was able to spend with Christie, but he had refrained from doing anything inappropriate, despite his want to do so.

“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh yeah? I beg to differ. I have a lot of experience in this department. I can’t believe you. Didn’t you tell me she cheated on you? Why would you want her now?”

Darien vaguely remembered the lie he told to Sandy in the beginning.

“Sandy, we were just talking.”

“Oh, right. Talking alone in Carl’s house. Does he know you’re in his house?”

“Sure, I do,” Carl said from behind Darien as he came around him. “Hi, Sandy.” He smiled to her.

She looked from Carl to Darien. Christie also came out onto the porch and she smiled to Sandy. The smile was forced, Sandy could see, but it was an attempt at civility.

“Hey, Sandy,” Christie said.

“Hi…” she said guardedly.

The two girls looked at each other for a moment, not really sure what to say.

“Isn’t it great, Christie came to visit from New York.” Carl beamed at Christie, who gave him a smile back.

When Darien looked over at Christie, Sandy saw something in his eyes that bothered her. It was something infinitely more deep than the looks he gave to her.

“Well, I think I should get back,” Sandy started to back down the stairs. “It was great seeing you again, Christie. I’ll…see you around.” She turned and walked away, quickly trying to get away from the porch.

Before she made it all the way to Mount Royale she heard Demon behind her. She kept walking, but she slowed down a little.

Darien just passed by her. She watched him go and shook her head, her anger growing inside her.

That night, when Darien didn’t come to bed, she started to wonder if he wasn’t with Christie. Part of her wasn’t sure she cared. It was that thought that got her to thinking about her future with Darien.

*~*~*~*

Instead of doing a full run the next morning, Sandy ran past Carl’s house until she saw him come out of it. Then she waved and ran towards him. He smiled and waved to her as he waited for her to come to him.

“Hey, Sandy,” he said, obviously happy to see her.

“Hey, Carl. I just wanted to apologize for last night. I didn’t mean to be so rude and leave like I did.”

“Oh that’s ok, Sandy.” He sat down on his porch. “So what are you going to do today?”

“I don’t know,” she answered, and she seemed plagued about it. She took a seat beside him.

“Carl, do you think Christie is still in love with Darien?”

“Yeah, I think so. She was pretty happy to see him last night. She told me she thinks about him all the time.” Carl picked up a rock that he found on his porch and tossed it.

“So why did she cheat on him?” Sandy asked, confused.

Carl’s eyes widened in confusion and then his brow furrowed.

“She didn’t cheat on him, Sandy. He broke up with her over the phone. He told her he had found someone else. I guess he meant you, because you guys started dating right afterwards.”

Sandy’s head was reeling. He had lied to her. Their relationship had been built on lies. She wracked her brain to figure out why he would lie to her and only one answer popped into her head: Ori. But the reason why Ori would want Darien to date her didn’t come to mind. One thing was for sure, though. Darien and Ori were up to something.

“What’cha thinking?” Carl asked her after she was quiet a few moments.

“About doing the right thing.”

“What’s that?”

She looked at Carl and smiled.

“If there is one thing I’ve learned from Polaris its, sometimes you don’t know why the villains want what they want. The important thing is just to keep them from having it.” She smiled, but then her smile faded. “No matter what the cost.”

Carl furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as Sandy got up and started to walk away.

“Hey, Sandy!”

Sandy turned around.

“I’m not the villain am I?” he asked, so hopeful.

She smiled. He really could be a very endearing person at times.

“No, Carl. You’re my ally.”

Carl’s smile got really wide and he puffed out his chest a little. Sandy winked at him before she turned and started jogging towards Mount Royale.

*~*~*~*

“We have to talk,” Sandy said as she entered the library.

Darien looked up from his glass of brandy. It wasn’t uncommon for him to come to the library to think. It was quiet here, and very few people would think to look for him here. He was sure Sandy must have bribed a housecleaner for his whereabouts.

Sandy sat down in front of him.

“You lied to me.”

Darien just watched her, not really sure what he lied about, not really wanting to confess to anything. Sandy eyed him and noticed he was still wearing the same clothes from the other day, and he was likely very drunk if he had been drinking all night and into the morning.

“Darien, did you hear me?”

“Of course I heard you.”

He didn’t sound drunk to Sandy. She wasn’t sure if that was good news or bad news.

“Well, don’t you have anything to say about it?”

“About what?”

“You lying to me.”

“I’m sorry.”

She narrowed her eyes.

“You don’t even know which lie it is, Darien Maine.”

He rolled his eyes, obviously still upset from the day before.

“What lie?”

“Christie didn’t break up with you for another guy.”

Darien only nodded and swallowed down the rest of his brandy.

“Congratulations, you found out.” His voice dripped with sarcasm.

Sandy just watched him for a moment and then finally shook her head.

“You love her. Still.”

“Look, Nancy Drew, I’m not in a very good mood right now. It seems that even though I’ve never done anything to make you think I would ever be a Gabe Stanley, I’m to pay for his crimes anyway.”

She lowered her head a little.

“I am sorry about that. I shouldn’t have accused you of cheating with Christie.” She sat back in her chair and watched as Darien stared into the bottom of his empty glass. Likely wishing for more, she thought. She got up and went to the bar. One thing she marveled about at Mount Royale was the amount of bars that were scattered across the house. She was becoming convinced that there was one in every major room.

She grabbed the brandy and brought it to him. He looked up at her, his eyebrows raised slightly and he lifted his glass to her. She refilled it, generously, and brought the brandy back to the bar.

“In the small refrigerator,” Darien said.

Sandy furrowed her brows, not understanding what he meant at first. She opened the miniature refrigerator and smiled when she saw Fuzzy Navel wine coolers. They were her favorite. She grabbed one before coming back to Darien.

“Do you love me?” she asked, watching his features carefully.

“Yes.” He took a drink of his brandy. She smiled and took a drink from her bottle.

“Are you in love with me?”

He looked at her a moment and then rolled his eyes.

“What kind of question is that?”

“The kind of question that should definitely be answered before either of us considers marriage.”

He took another drink of his brandy, this time taking his time and putting quite a dent in the amount in his glass.

“I think you’re in love with Christie.”

Darien let his head fall back against the high back of the chair. His eyes were staring, unfocused at the ceiling. She wasn’t sure he was going to answer her. When his voice sounded again, it was soft and quiet.

“I miss her sometimes.”

Sandy nodded. “I miss Gabe sometimes, too.”

He looked over at her. “You still love him?”

Sandy smiled. She felt like for the first time since they started dating that they were having a truly honest conversation.

“No, I don’t think so. But I’m still really hurt by what he did, so I suspect I have some unresolved feelings where he and Tammy are concerned.”

Darien nodded.

“But I do love Polaris.”

He didn’t look surprised. He just nodded and took another drink of his brandy.

“I think it’s time, Darien.”

“Time?” he asked, although she suspected he knew what she meant.

“Time for both of us to move on to the ones we are in love with. Polaris for me. Christie for you.”

“What makes you think you have a chance with Polaris?” he asked, more out of curiosity than anything.

“I think I have just about as good a chance as anyone. Perhaps more so because I know him so well. But even if I had no upper hand. I’d still have to try.”

“So are we breaking up?”

“Don’t you think we should?”

“I don’t know.” And he really didn’t. He felt extremely conflicted. He knew if he could break it off with Sandy he could have Christie. He was convinced she’d take him back. On the other hand, there was his father to contend with if he did fail to marry Sandy and have a child.

“I do,” Sandy said softly. “But I think we should stay friends. We’ve been through so much this last year not to be friends afterwards. What do you think? Do you want to be my friend?” Sandy asked, her care for him showing brightly in her blue eyes.

He looked into her eyes for a while and finally a smile came to his lips.

“I would really like that.”

“So would I.” She beamed at him, glad for the feeling of release this gave her.

“So now all we have to do is break it to your father.”

Darien winced at that and nodded slowly, finishing off his brandy.

Sandy smiled. She was actually looking forward to telling Ori. She stood up and held her hand out for Darien. He took a deep breath and took her hand, standing.

When they found Ori in his study, Sandy knocked on the door. Ori looked up and smiled at seeing the both of them there, holding hands. He waved them in and stood up.

“Well, hello you two. I was just starting to wonder if I’d see either of you the rest of the week.” He offered them a place to sit, but Sandy declined.

“That’s ok, Mr. Maine, this won’t take long. We have an announcement to make.”

A smile slowly spread over Ori’s face and he took a seat and waited.

When Darien realized what Sandy had said and what his father thought she meant he inwardly groaned.

“Darien and I have decided to break up.” She smiled. “But we have decided to remain friends.”

Ori’s eyes widened and his smile left his lips. He made eye contact with Darien who only held it briefly before he looked away. Ori looked back to Sandy, who looked inordinately pleased with herself.

“I see.” Ori said, sitting forward in his chair.

Sandy started to get a bit nervous. The look on his face was not friendly at all.

“Is that all?” Ori asked, watching them both squirm a little under his gaze.

Sandy nodded, holding her head up to try not to look afraid. She met his eyes and held them.

Ori nodded. “Alright then. If you don’t mind, I have work to do.”

Sandy nodded and started to walk out, taking Darien with her.

“Darien. If you would stay back, please. I’d like to have a word with you.”

Darien froze and Sandy stopped as well, afraid for him. She took a fortifying breath and turned to face Ori Maine.

“Before you get upset at Darien, this really is my doing. I broke up with him. He didn’t want to. He’s accepted being my friend because he knows that’s all he can have with me from now on. This isn’t his doing, and it isn’t his fault.”

Ori smiled a little. He was impressed with this girl’s bravery. He had used his menacing presence to try to frighten her, and he knew he had succeeded. But even though she was frightened she would not let Darien take the fall for this decision. He was rather touched by her sticking up for his son.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

She looked at Darien smiled at her and nodded; telling her silently that it was ok for her to leave. She looked back at Ori and left.

*~*~*~*

When Darien walked out of his father’s office he was surprised to see Sandy sitting on the floor across from the door.

“What are you doing here?”

“Waiting for you.” She stood up, brushing off. “Was he angry.”

“Yes. But it’s fine now. We’ve come to an understanding.”

“Oh?”

Darien just nodded.

“Well?” Sandy asked.

Darien just smiled.

Sandy rolled her eyes and slapped his arm. She hated not knowing, but she decided not to press for now.

As they came into the main lobby of the mansion, Sandy spotted Christie, who was being let in the front door by the butler. Sandy smiled and looked at Darien.

“You have a visitor. I’ll just go for a ride to Carl’s.” She smiled and reached up to kiss him on the cheek. She looked over at Christie and smiled and nodded to her before leaving.



To Be Continued...