The Outing

"Won't Mummy and Daddy join us for dinner?" Sam asked to divert the conversation from Claire.

"Mum and Dad aren't here. "They're spending the weekend on a ship," Kira said incredulously.

"A yacht!" Paco corrected. "From now on, it's just us and grandpa. They all leave when they find out we are coming," Paco said cheekily.

He bumped fists with his sister.

So Desmond was lying when he said they were being watched. When she turned and looked at him, he was smirking. The devil! Sam felt her face grow warm.

After breakfast, everyone went to the sitting room to watch TV as it was already getting dark. cartoons. Eric snorted on the sofa. Desmond was typing into his phone. Claire escaped to the bedroom to get hers while the twins were engrossed in the film. She couldn't believe she had forgotten.

Desmond glanced at her from the corner of his eyes as she sat back beside him. She had her phone with her and a bright smile on her face.

She turned on the screen and began to operate it. Something on the screen was amazing to her. Desmond got curious. He started inching closer, subtly by the seconds. When he got close enough without her noticing, he could see the screen.

Sam was watching models. male models. Most of them barely had enough clothes on.

"Bad wife." He scolded.

Sam almost jumped out of her skin at his voice. When had he gotten this close? Sam looked around to make sure no one was watching them. Eric still slept, and the children had their backs to them.

"I'm not your wife, Mr. Desmond."

"You don't have to look at naked men on social media. I'm right, you. I can strip for free."

"There is no one watching us, so..."

"You never know who is..."

"That won't work this time. You are unbelievable."

She looked pretty upset and embarrassed while talking about it.

"Cameras are hidden in different areas of the house," he said seriously.

"It's for security, but I can't risk someone catching on us while rewinding footage or something. Tim does that all the time.

He wasn't lying about the eyes? Sam truly hoped it was true and he wasn't just poking fun at her.

"Stay calm, I'm going to kiss you on the cheek. Sam blushed, but her eyes stayed straight. Desmond leaned in, pulled her closer by the shoulder, and kissed her, then sat right up.

It would have been cute if it were someone she liked. She hadn't had her first love, but she'd lost her first kiss. Bravo, Samantha! What was she going to lose next? Her virginity.

Hell Nah! She told herself She wouldn't let a man touch her if he hadn't given her a ring and walked her down the aisle. No amount of money would change that.

"Don't sleep, Paco. "Pa Pa promised to tell us a bedtime story."

Kira was shaking her brother, who had fallen asleep on the rugged floor. Paco sat up groggily and looked towards his grandfather.

"Look at him. He's sleeping, Kira. I don't think he can read even one line."

"Like hell, he will. He must keep his promise. Let's go wake him up.

She helped the reluctant Paco up. so bossy. In about ten years, she should have the final say in the Landon household. Kira climbed the couch next to Eric, brought her mouth to his ear, and hooted at the top of her voice. The old man leaped out of his seat in surprise.

Kira, Paco, and Desmond burst into laughter. Sam frowned. Desmond should be scolding them. How could he laugh?

"Don't you think it's bad for his heart?" Sam asked, genuinely worried.

"He's stronger than you think," Desmond assured her.

When she looked back at them, Eric had Kira laying on her back and poking her sides with his finger, which made her giggle, scream, and howl uncontrollably. Sam had no more doubts about his health.

"Can you tell us a story as you promised?"

"Let's go upstairs then. I'll tuck you in bed and read you a story."

The children delightfully followed their grandfather upstairs. It was almost nine. It had been getting dark when Eric invited them for dinner, probably at six thirty or so.

Sam tried to concentrate on the cartoon the kids had been watching, but she kept imagining Eric reading a storybook to them.

As far as she could remember, no one ever read bedtime stories to her. She wished she only had the book. It should be really large with drawings of princesses, fairies, and unicorns.

"Let's go to bed," Desmond said, standing up.

"Please go ahead. I'll watch TV for a while, then join you when I'm sleepy."

He walked quietly to the middle table, took the remote, and turned off the TV.

"Next thing you will fall asleep. I can't promise to come back and carry you upstairs again."

"Again?"

"Yesterday, I had to carry you upstairs. Your weight didn't bother me much, but your state of undress did."

"What?" She asked quietly and fearfully.

Your legs were all over the place, Samantha. Your shirt was almost over your head."

Sam's face turned into a tomato. Oh, my pride! My dignity! My poor soul! She lamented in her heart. A man had seen her body. She felt so filthy and small. She turned and headed upstairs. Desmond followed from a distance with a grin.

When he entered the bedroom, Sam was already in bed. Like always, she was at the farthest side and had pulled the duvet up her chin.

He considered lying next to her and wrapping his arm around her tiny waist, but he decided he had embarrassed the girl enough for the day and stayed on his side of the bed.

* * * *

Sam woke up in the middle of the bed. She sat up in a panic. Desmond never bothered about staying on his side of the bed and preferred the center. If she had rolled to the middle, then they might have cuddled. She ran her hand through her hair in frustration.

The bathroom door opened. Desmond stepped out with only a towel hanging loosely around his waist. He was all wet and beautiful. Sam hurriedly looks away so she doesn't catch his evil eyes.

"Come over here, Samantha," Desmond called.

Her heart leaped. What did he want? She turned and saw him opening a cabinet and bringing out a body lotion. She couldn't help lowering her gaze to his chest.

"Hurry up. We only have a little time before the kids get out of bed. " He snapped.

She hurriedly got out of bed, still wondering what he wanted her to do. When she got to him, he handed her the bottle of lotion, then pulled out the stool for the vanity and sat. Sam was at a loss.

"Normally, an experienced maid does this, but since we aren't in my house, you should do it."

Now she gets the gist.

"I'm not a maid, Mr. Desmond." She said indignantly.

Desmond's gaze met hers in the mirror. Sam felt her hand tremble.

"Are you, in any way, better than them?" He asked calmly.

No, she didn't. She was just scared of touching his bare skin. She hated how her body would come to life each time they were close. Why?! She didn't even like the man.

"Don't let these..." He turned his eyes around for emphasis.

"...get into your head. Get to work."

Does that mean her consent didn't matter? Desmond didn't yell at her, but she wasn't going to push him.

She pumped lotion into her palm and rubbed her two palms together. She hesitated. She looked at Desmond in the mirror. His eyes were on her face. He had a bored expression that almost looked impatient.

She hurriedly placed her palms on his back and rubbed.

"Samantha!" She paused and looked up at the mirror.

"It's supposed to be soothing. Do it slowly.

Says the guy who said they had little time. She complied in any way.

Desmond's back was the best she'd ever touched. Well, that's the first back she touched. It felt hard and soft at the same time. It felt like steel covered in skin.

"Have you touched a man before?" Desmond asked.

She looked up into his eyes for a second, then continued.

"I haven't." She said

Desmond had been watching her red face as she ran her small hands across his back. She was so innocent.

"That's it." He said, getting up suddenly.

The dreaded pounding on the door disturbed their quiet. Shit! She hadn't even done the morning routine.

Desmond hurried to the closet. Sam moved away from the mirror and kept her back to him to give him privacy. It was funny how worked up he would get when the twins showed up.

Desmond walked past her to the door after about a minute fully dressed in grey sweatpants and a black cotton T-shirt that clung to his broad shoulders and chest.

She only got a glimpse of the twins as Desmond stepped out before he shut the door, almost smacking it into their faces as they made to rush in. Sam couldn't help but smile. Eric was wise to have called them. Those kids would've been the death of him.

Sam dressed up hurriedly and went out to join them for breakfast. The servants were about the same every morning.

When she entered the dining room, she noticed that Eric's seat was empty. The twins were seated beside Desmond, with Paco closest to him.

When Sam approached the table, the twins smiled up at her.

"Hi, little fellas."

"Good morning, Sam." They chorused fondly.

Sam took the seat next to Kira.

"Where's your pa?" She asked.

"He ran away," Kira said with a proud smile.

Sam was confused. Paco passed his tablet to Kira. She picked it up and clicked a video.

It had Eric behind the wheel.

"I'm dumping the kids on you. "They want to go shopping," he huffed wearily. "My old feet can't take it. I didn't even sleep well yesterday. I'll be back tomorrow just in time to see them off and meet my sweet Claire."

The video ended.

"He didn't even apologize." Desmond sneered while eating.

"Where is he going? He's driving himself."

"He'll be fine. We are the ones in trouble."

"He looked so tired." Sam felt sorry for the old man.

"They must have kept him up all night reading their stories. Eric has such a weak spot for them. He can't tell them no."

Look at who is talking. He indulged them too. They were too charming to resist. What amazed her was how they could get everyone tired and still be brimming with energy.

"I'm glad Pa left!" Paco laughed heartily.

"Me too! He always picks the worst stores," Kira sassed.

Sam laughed.

"Eat up everyone," Desmond said sternly. "Let's get this shopping nightmare over with."

* * * *

Desmond didn't mind taking a bigger car, so he didn't bring Terry and Gord with them. He had to drive. Sam sat next to him. The twins were at the back, strapped to their seats with the seat belt. That didn't only keep them safe. It reduced their movements around the car.

"Drive us by the toy store a few blocks from here," Kira said in her bossy tone.

She must be used to ordering drivers.

"Please," Paco added for her."

Sam was officially charmed. These kids complimented each other so much. Where Kira was like fire, Paco was ice. The way they synced was just so adorable. When she caught a glimpse of Desmond, he was smiling subtly.

"Alright, master and mistress." He said.

They stopped in front of a huge building. There were human-sized movie superheroes outside. When they got inside, several aisles were stacked with colorful items. Sam felt like the only adult in there that wanted toys.

She didn't realize that Desmond had disappeared until the twins began to tuck into her arms.

"Let's go this way!" Paco whined while pulling her right arm.

"No! This way!" Kira insisted, pulling the left one.

Their argument was causing people to look their way.

"Why don't you go yourselves? I'll stay right here and wait."

They both stopped, then harrumphed, and went their separate ways.

She held her spot and hoped they returned in time. Her legs were already getting together.

She saw Desmond approach from the front. Thank God. She was already wondering what was taking him so long. As he got closer, his eyes narrowed and his forehead creased.

"Where are they?" He asked.

"Oh. Paco went that way. Kira went that way," she pointed out. "They were arguing..."

"You let five-year-old kids loose in a mall?" He sneered at her quietly.

He didn't yell, but she could tell he was barely keeping himself from doing that by the way his breathing got labored and his jaw twitched. Sam panicked.

He groaned and hurried off to the right. Sam went left.