Galen still couldn't believe his son had called Lydia a gold-digger to her face. Had any other man said that, Galen would have slugged him. "She's not like that.""Sure. So she's only what - fifteen years younger than you?" Jason shrugged and rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll go apologize if you want."Galen gave him a curt nod. "I'd appreciate it."They walked back to the booth and found Lydia gone. Galen turned to the palm reader set up at the next table and discovered that Lydia's friend had taken her home. Apparently she'd gotten sick. Tendrils of worry snaked around his gut."It looks like she dropped one of her cards." Jason pointed to a white cardboard square poking out from the grass beneath the table cloth."Damn, those were her grandmother's. She'd be devastated if she lost any of them." Galen reached down and picked up the card, pleased when Jason dropped to his knees to check for others under the table."That was the only one. Good thing we found it then."Galen nodded, g
Lydia paused as if taking stock, then nodded cautiously, replying to Galen's question. "I feel much better. Like I said, maybe I was just overtired. Or upset.""Jason." Galen bit his lower lip then continued. "I have no idea why he decided to be such a jerk to you, honey but he asked me to tell you that he's sorry.""It's okay." Her eyes told him she was lying. Jason's words had hurt her and his own inept handling of the situation had made it worse."No, it's not. But hopefully it will be, eventually. You're both important to me and I'd like it if you two could get along. I think once he figures out that what we have is real, he'll be okay."She gave him a shaky smile. "I hope you're right. I don't want to come between you and your son, Galen.""You won't. He's a good kid, for the most part. He'll come around."Galen heated up a can of soup and made some sandwiches after installing her on the couch. She seemed all right but she was still pale and shaky, not at all her normal exub
On Wednesday night, Lydia changed her outfit four different times before deciding on a black denim mini and silver camisole. Flat black sandals and a pair of silver hoop earrings completed the outfit. She was thirty now. Not a huge deal in cosmic terms perhaps but a big enough one for her. It made her relationship with Galen sound a little better, she thought, if he could just tell people "oh, she's in her thirties."He'd sent flowers to her office again today and her heart had sung when she'd seen the card signed 'Galen' instead of his initials. It was another baby step but he was taking those with increasing regularity. He did have some sort of committee meeting tonight but he'd promised to meet her at the pub as soon as it was over.Her headache was still a nagging worry. Most days it just sat there at the back of her skull, annoying but not debilitating but sometimes especially if she was working, it came back with a vengeance. She was probably going to have to go to the doctor a
Galen handed Lydia her present and she ripped into the package like a five-year-old at Christmas. When she opened it and saw the Tarot card necklace she squealed and threw her arms around his neck. "The Hierophant. It's you. You remembered. Oh, Galen, it's perfect. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I was wrong before. This is the best birthday present I've ever had!" She punctuated each sentence with a kiss on his cheek, nose or chin, anywhere she could reach. Then she spun on her stool to face away from him and handed the box back over her shoulder. "Help me put it on."Obediently he fastened the chain around her neck, his fingers lingering to caress the sensitive skin at her nape. When he was done he bent his head and kissed her neck just below her ear. Damn, he couldn't wait to take her home tonight. He'd already told Jason not to expect him back. He wasn't about to abandon her on her birthday. He'd reluctantly accepted the fact that his son was mature enough to handle the idea of h
Lydia dropped her hands to Galen's belt. "Now," she echoed, fumbling with the fly of his chinos as he pinched and rolled her nipples in his hands. "Oh yeah. Right now."She got his pants undone and pushed them down, boxers and all, then circled his erection with her hand. Velvet covered steel, he was so thick her fingers didn't meet in back and she dragged her hand up and down the shaft determined to make sure he was in as much of a frenzy as she."Not going to make it to the bedroom." One hand left her breast and Lydia nearly cried at the loss until she felt it slide up her bare thigh and under her skirt."No." She leaned over and licked the head of his cock, tasting the thick drop that had already beaded up just since she'd removed his pants. "Here. Now."He pulled her up by the armpits. "Not in your mouth." He fastened his lips to hers again as his hands tugged her skirt up around her waist and he backed them over to the sofa. Instead of laying her down though, he spun her and p
Galen lifted Lydia in his arms and carried her to her bedroom, dropping her to the bed. She raised her arms in invitation and he followed her down to the mattress.They were already primed from their play in the bathroom. He was hard enough to pound nails and she was wet and slick in all the right places. As soon as the protection was in place, he rolled her to her back and positioned himself between her legs."Every time we do this, I think it can't get any better. Every single time, you prove me wrong." He nuzzled her breasts while he tested her with one hand, spreading her thick cream around her plump folds. He rubbed the head of his penis against her to wet it before once again driving into her snug slippery heat. Then he laced the fingers of both of his hands through hers and pinned hers to the bed beside her beautiful beloved face."I think I'm falling in love with you Lydia." He raised his pelvis withdrawing until just the tip of his cock was inside her pussy. "I hope you kno
She hadn't expected the headache to be back full force today, not after waking up this morning in Galen's arms. While they hadn't totally resolved every issue of their relationship, they had made huge strides forward and she was beginning to believe that they were on the right path. She played with the pendant around her neck, pleased beyond measure by his choice of birthday present. It felt a bit like being given a boy's class ring or fraternity pin. Galen had known that to her, the Hierophant card signified him. When he'd selected the necklace, he hadn't considered it just an ornament but something that said he thought of her as his.The morning had been lazy and sexy and decadent, but eventually noon had come and gone and now she was back to work as normal.She'd finished cataloging every document in the collection except for the Alcineath scroll, though she was still hunting through Professor Kroner's journals, along with boxes of receipts and letters to establish provenance on s
Five minutes later, a knock on Galen's door heralded the arrival of Raymond Foster, a promising young man who was in the process of deciding between SMU and another graduate school."Mr. Foster," Galen held out his hand. "Welcome to Southern Michigan.""Dr. Forsythe." The young man shook his hand with a strong, confident grip. Good for him. "Please call me Ray. I've read your work in Medieval History Review and it's truly a pleasure to meet you." He flipped open a leather portfolio withdrew some papers which he handed to Galen.Galen shuffled through the pages and glanced at the résumé and research summary in his hands. Just as he started to ask about the research project, his phone rang, playing the series of notes that signified the caller was Jason."Can you excuse me a minute, Mr. Foster? I need to take this call."The young man smiled easily. "No problem at all. Would you like me to step outside?"Galen shook his head and flipped the phone open. "Jason?""Dad, you need to g