"Miss Fine! In my office
now!" Maxwell Sheffield yells hanging up the phone.
Oh, god, what did I do this
time? Fran thinks worriedly trotting to Mr. Sheffield's office.
I haven't been near any of his backers in weeks, so I couldn't have
scared any of them away.
Max looks enraged. "Miss
Fine, because of you, I hired another one of your insane relatives.
Your cousin has just quit my new show. I am forced to find another flutist.
She decided to quit at the last minute to go to Hollywood for fame and
fortune! What the hell do they need with a flutist in bloody
Hollywood?" he growls.
"Oh, Mr. Sheffield...I'm
so sorry, but that's really not my fault."
"From now on please stick
to being the nanny and stay out of my life! Now go! I have to find a
new flutist and we're opening in a week!" He dismisses her with
a wave of his hand and gets on the phone to call the musician's union.
Fran leaves the office with
little to say in her defense. She is hurt by his harsh words and by
how unfair he was. She couldn't help it if her cousin quit.
Well, from now on I will stay out of his life, just like he wants.
She thinks wincing at how that statement from him hurt. She climbs up
the stairs to her room, dejected. It was only a few months ago that
he told her he loved her on that fateful trip from Paris, only to take
it back the next day. Ever since then, it seemed he went out of his
way to find something to yell at her about.
It's almost as if he's afraid of his feelings, she ponders. He's
so repressed he just can't come to grip with them.
Well, I'm not waiting around too much longer. I don't deserve to
be treated like this. She lies on her bed and falls into a light
sleep her eyes stinging with tears.
Fran decides she doesn't want
to dine with Maxwell Sheffield tonight. The kids are on their annual
ski trip to Aspen. He was mad at her, and she wasn't crazy about him
right now, so dinner alone together would be insufferable. She walks
into the kitchen and informs Niles that she is going to eat in her room.
Niles gives her a sympathetic
look as he watches her ascend the back staircase. He had heard Mr. Sheffield
bellow for her and figured he had yelled at her for some stupid little
thing. Why doesn't he just get it over with and sleep with her already?
The reason he's so emotional around her is he's got to channel that
sexual tension somewhere. Nile's has known his boss all Max's life
and has analyzed the situation perfectly.
Well, he'll be sorry someday. She's not going to put up with it forever!
She's been here four years, how much more can she take?
He wonders a little worriedly. The bleak look he saw in her eyes terrified
him. Niles knew that she was on the brink.
Max walks in the dining room.
"Niles, why is it so bloody cold in here? It's in single digits
outside. Why don't you have the heat blasting?" He says rubbing
his hands together.
"Oh, sir, the furnace
has gone out. They can't repair it until morning. Here sit in front
of the fireplace and eat your dinner. I made sure you have a huge fire
in your bedroom fireplace. That will keep it warm enough," he says
carrying Max's dinner into the living room.
"What about you old boy?"
You don't have a fireplace in your room," Max sits on the couch
sipping a glass of wine.
"Oh, don't worry about
me, sir. I've got a date this evening. I won't be home until tomorrow."
He gives Max a wicked smile and walks up the stairs to his room.
The fact that Miss Fine didn't
have a fireplace in her room completely slips Max's mind. He had subconsciously
pushed all thoughts of her out of his head for the day so as not to
get enraged again. He finishes his dinner and goes back in his office
to work briefly. He decides it's too cold and goes to the warmth of
his bedroom.
Why is so cold in here?
Fran thinks getting out of the hot bath she took to try to help sort
out her life. She had made some very important decisions in that tub,
and was determined to get her life on track. She goes to the thermostat
at the top of the stairs and sees it is turned on. Niles had already
left and the fire in the living room had burned out. Growing up in an
apartment in Queens, it would never occur to Fran to light the fireplace
for warmth. The furnace must be broken again. Oh, great! Five degrees
Fahrenheit outside and snowing. Well I better get more blankets for
my bed. She thinks going to the linen closet. She returns to her
room and cuddles under her covers.
Max is sitting comfortably
in his black silk pajamas in front of his fireplace reading the latest
best seller 'The DaVinci Code.' He sips his scotch rocks and takes a
puff of his cigar. Hmm...The house is terribly quiet tonight.
He suddenly notices. Oh, that right, the children are away and Niles
is out for the evening. That just leaves Miss Fine and me. Suddenly
he realizes that he has not seen her since he yelled at her this afternoon.
Did she go out for the evening? He thinks with a little nagging
guilt in the back of his mind. Even though he wouldn't admit it to even
himself, he loathed when Fran was out at night. He was coming to realize
that a woman as attractive as she would have no trouble finding male
companionship.
Now that Max has settled down,
he realizes that he may have overreacted earlier. He also is suddenly
feeling badly at telling her to stay out of his life. He is well aware
how empty his life would be without her. I'll apologize when she
gets home. He thinks. Well, I better leave her a note and inform
her that the furnace is broken. Hmm, that poses another problem. Where
in the world will she sleep? Well, maybe the living room in front of
the fireplace? For some reason he wasn't at all crazy about that
idea. He gets up and goes to her room to leave the note. He opens the
door and is horrified to discover Fran shivering madly in her bed. She
has the covers pulled over her head but he can hear teeth chattering
beneath them. "Miss Fine! Oh god! You're freezing!"
He cries running to her bed. His heart drops into his stomach at the
sight.
"OH, Mr. Sheffield...I'm
so cold! I think the furnace is broken. I've been trying to get warm,
but it's really freezing in here," she says through those chattering
teeth. She looks up at him with big brown eyes and he is racked with
guilt.
Panicking he lifts her out
of bed and carries her to his room. She is holding him tightly feeling
the warmth of his body against hers. "Oh Miss Fine. I'm so sorry!
I was a bloody cad not to think of you sooner!" He sets
her in front of his fireplace and wraps his arms around her trying to
give her some of his body heat. She is chilled to the bone and trembling
madly. "Mr. Sheffield, I'm so sorry about my cousin..." she
begins through chattering teeth.
"Oh, don't worry about
that Miss Fine." Max holds her tightly against himself and is terrified
that she is going to get pneumonia. He frantically rubs her as he is
holding her closely to him. "Miss Fine, why didn't you come to
see me if you were so cold?" he says his heart breaking at how
she was shaking in his arms.
"I knew how mad you were
at me," she says shivering even more. Max is consumed with guilt
and was really worrying that she wasn't warming up fast enough. Her
porcelain white skin actually had a light blue cast, the sight of it
horrified him. He suddenly lifts her in his arms and takes her to the
bed. He puts her in under the covers and quickly gets in with her, pulling
the covers most of the way over them. Fran is surprised but not at all
displeased. Max gently gets on top of her and wraps himself around her.
"Miss Fine, please excuse
the familiarity, but we have to utilize all my body heat to get your
body temperature back to normal!" he says completely covering her
body with his. Max is so scared of her getting sick that he wasn't the
least bit embarrassed at the situation. He wraps his arms around her
and rubs his cheek up against her. He is dismayed at how cold her face
feels against his. Oh god, if she gets sick it will be my entire
fault. Poor little thing! He thinks rubbing his cheek against hers.
I hate that I was such a beast to her earlier!
Oh my god!
Fran thinks happily feeling his body on top of her Does this feel
good! Now, how do I get this going? She ponders. She's feeling so
much warmer now...like that's a surprise when the man of her dreams
is enveloping her body making it tingle all over. "Oh, Mr. Sheffield...I
was so cold!" she says shivering a little harder, seeing
an opportunity.
"I
know Miss Fine! I am so bloody sorry. I never even thought of
you! You should have been in here with me tonight; it's the only warm
room in the house. How thoughtless
I was!" He rubs her arms and shoulders desperately. He looks anxiously
down at her. She looks deeply into his eyes. The look she gives him
suddenly makes his heart beat faster. He is just starting to realize
her beautiful body beneath him as he feels the warmth emanating from
her. Max knows she is out of danger and let's the pleasant feelings
flow. "Oh Miss Fine..." he whispers as delightful tingles
are starting to reach his lower regions.
"Mr. Sheffield. You feel
so good on top of me," she murmurs as their cheeks are still rubbing
together. She puts her arms around him and he is suddenly aware that
he is pressing himself into her. Oh god, she feels so good under
me. Without thinking he softly kisses her on the lips. Her shivering
has subsided but he stays on top of her, rhythmically pressing himself
into her body. She spreads her knees apart and presses herself against
his huge arousal. Max moans as he feels her respond. All that is separating
them is the thin material at the crotch of their pajamas. He is now
breathing very heavily.
Oh, Mr. Sheffield, this feels
so good," she moans hugging him tightly to her. "We probably
shouldn't be doing this. Mr. Sheffield, you're getting me really turned
on," she whispers breathing heavily. "We should probably stop."
He just kisses her more ferociously. Fran presses against him more urgently,
causing him go groan.
"Miss Fine, you are so
lovely and I was so stupid. I'm so sorry. How can I make it up to you?
"he murmurs smiling down at her with a hopeful look in his eyes.
"Oh, you're definitely
doing it already," she whispers kissing him. She gasps as his tongue
penetrates her lips. Slowly, tentatively his hands start to roam her
body. He finds the buttons of her pajama top and slowly starts to open
them. He looks in her eyes for permission and she nods seductively.
Max kisses her as his hand caresses her breast for the first time.
Fran lets out an involuntary
moan as little tingling sensation rush through her body. She instinctively
arches her hips up into his erection. Her reaction excites him even
more. He kisses down her neck slowly until he reaches the other breast.
He lets his tongue do wonderful thing to it, which causes her to press
herself into his arousal more desperately. Encouraged by her reaction,
Max tentatively lets his hand go south. He slowly starts pulling her
pajama bottoms off.
Uh, oh. Fran thinks
coming back to reality. Suddenly she stops him. He looks up at her surprised,
disappointed... and a little worried.
The realization that this is
Mister Sheffield pulling her bottoms off suddenly terrifies her
slightly. I won't be able to go back to how we were if we do this.
This is permanent! She thinks now more than a little nervous. "Oh
Mr. Sheffield. We can't do this," she whispers sadly. Max is stunned
and horrified. Oh, god! I don't want to stop!
Max takes her into his arms and gently puts his fingers under her chin
looking into her eyes.
"Miss Fine, what's wrong?
Don't you want to be with me?" He is valiantly trying to control
his breathing and his racing heart.
Oh god, how could she stop me! I really need her! I've never been
so turned on! I've wanted her for so long, and I thought she
felt the same about me. He rubs his cheek against hers his body
trembling with passion. "Please Miss Fine...Fran.
I just want to make you feel wonderful," he pleads, his
eyes at half-mast.
"Oh, Mr. Sheffield. I
just can't do this with you!" she says tears forming in her eyes.
She casts her eyes demurely down and wipes a tear away.
Oh god! Why is she crying?
He thinks starting to panic. Did I hurt her? I just hate it when
she cries. He sits up and gathers her tenderly in his arms. "Please
tell me what's wrong, darling." He is rocking her in his arms.
"Did I cause you any...discomfort?" he asks gently kissing
the top of her head.
Fran looks up at him. She can't
believe she stopped him when she has dreamed of this moment for three
years. All of a sudden, she empathized with him for taking back
the thing. He was right...this could change their lives forever.
Was she ready for it...was he? Fran takes a deep breath and swallows
back more tears. "Mr. Sheffield, if we do this, I know I'm going
to fall hopelessly in love with you." She is stunned that
she just blurts it right out. I can't believe I just said that...well,
it's true! She thinks suddenly realizing it's time he knew the truth.
"It's hard enough living with you here now, knowing that you don't
love me. But, I'm not as experienced at this as you are and I know myself.
This is an important step and I don't take it lightly, despite what
Miss Babcock thinks. I've only had sex with men I thought I was in love
with...and who loved me." She buries her head in his chest. She
can hear his heart beating madly. Oh, god. Did I scare him?
She thinks, at the sound of his heartbeat she starts shivering again.
Max takes his fingers and puts
them under her chin bringing her face up to his. She is relieved to
see him smiling tenderly. Suddenly he kisses her softly. "Oh, Miss
Fine. You make me so happy, how can you say I don't love you? Oh, yes,
that blasted trip from Paris. I'm so sorry I took back saying I loved
you. I was just scared. You must know how
crazy I am about you!" he says laying her back and getting
on top of her again as he feels her trembling.
She looks at him and her heart
starts pounding madly at his confession.
Finally! He admits it! "Crazy about me,
huh? You almost let me freeze to death!"
Max looks at her and is relieved
to see a twinkle in her eyes. He has thrilled her beyond belief that
she was kidding, but that guilt he felt earlier at seeing her trembling
under the covers made him twinge.
"I
know!" He cries hugging her protectively to him. "I
am so sorry about that my darling!" Max really did feel horrible
about the thought of her lying in her bed trying to get warm. He shudders
at the thought that she could have fallen seriously ill.
"Mr. Sheffield! I was
just kidding. You are so sweet." She kisses him tenderly. "I'm
crazy about you too! Mr. Sheffield, I wasn't telling you the whole truth
just now. You see...I'm already hopelessly in love with you. I have
been since Paris. Even if we had made love just now, I'm pretty sure
I couldn't love you more than I already do," she murmurs snuggling
his chest.
Max smiles happily at her.
His heart is now pounding through his chest. He realizes that by admitting
her feelings for him, she has released all his inhibitions about their
relationship. This is the first time he has ever been completely sure
she loves him. Was that what had been holding me back all these months?
He thinks happily.
"By the way, Mr. Sheffield,
thanks for warming me up!" she says cuddling him seductively.
"So," he says his
voice suddenly husky with renewed passion realizing that he is on top
of her again. "Where do we go from here, Miss Fine?" Knowing
full well where he wants to go. He starts kissing down her neck again
and she is delightfully aware that he is pressing himself into her again.
"Well, Mr. Sheffield.
I'm getting a little cold again. Warm me up!" she orders.
"My pleasure," he
softly groans, gently pulling down her pajama bottoms. This time he
wasn't interrupted.
The End
Hope you enjoyed this short
story on this cold February day! I know I could use a little heat...it's
been a long winter! M.A.