Page 21 of Inside the Maelstrom: Part Two
They were standing on a beach, younger than they were now. Maybe seventeen or eighteen. They looked cheeky and full of life, Hendrick with his arm thrown around Otto’s shoulder, grinning widely straight at the camera. Otto was looking at him with a smile and a soft look in his eyes that clearly said his feelings were more than friendship, even back then. Right beside them, his shoulder pressed to Hendrick’s, was Sampson with arms crossed over his chest, his shoulders relaxed and a small smirk on his face.
It was perfectly them. I loved it.
“We should get a copy of this for the apartment,” I said, stroking their faces, smiling down at the boys in the picture.
“We’ll make our own picture, Viva, but sure, I’ll get a copy made.” Otto kissed my cheek. “Hendrick, help me move this.”
As I watched, they lifted the heavy wooden frame of Otto’s bed, moving it a few feet across. I didn’t know what the fuck they were doing but I appreciated the flexing muscles. I wondered if I could ask them to take their shirts off and start again?
Finally, they’d shifted it far enough over, and Otto pulled out a Swiss Army knife from his desk drawer before dropping to his knees. He slid the blade between the floorboards, wiggling it until one of the boards popped up.
“This is all very mysterious, guys. Like a spy movie.”
“Says the girl who just voyaged around the world based on handwritten clues in books,” Hendrick teased, reaching into the space between the floorboards and pulling out a long metal box. He stood up and dropped it onto Otto’s desk, sitting in his chair. After putting in a combination code, he carefully opened the lid. I kind of expected a treasure chest of golden coins, but logically, the actual contents made more sense.
“My medical files—the ones I could get my hands on, anyway. I’ll scan these and send them across to Tobias. But that’s not the only thing I’m here for.” He unloaded the papers, placing them on the desk, before pulling out a small velvet box.
As he flicked it open, I gasped. He pulled out a set of rings, one with a giant diamond, the other a band inset with tiny diamonds. “These were my grandmother’s. She’d have liked you.”
“Hendrick, I can’t…”
“You can, Viva. You’re my wife. You’ve saved my life already, and I want you to have them.” He grabbed my hand and slid the wedding band on, followed by the engagement ring with the diamond the size of a Cheerio. “Try them on for size. If you hate this in a year, you can give them back.”
I had a feeling he was talking about more than the rings, but I wasn’t ready to think about that yet. The logical side of my brain had taken a dirt nap, and all that was left was the emotional nutcase who cried at the thought of everything being over. “What if I lose them, though?”
He just shrugged. “Some lucky bastard will find them and be really, really happy, I guess?”
I looked at the set once more, realizing that it probably cost more than my parents’ house. Sliding the huge engagement ring back off my finger, I gently placed it back in the velvet box. But I left the wedding band on.
“I’d spend my whole time worrying about destroying a priceless heirloom. How about we keep it under Otto’s bed for a little longer?”
Hendrick just shrugged, pulling me into his arms and kissing me hard. “Sure thing, Viva. This is the one that matters anyway,” he said, kissing the tip of my left ring finger before sucking it into his mouth, making me gasp.
Otto let out a groan, and I looked over just in time to see him adjusting the bulge in his pants. “God, will you two stop being so hot? We’re in my parents’ house.”
Hendrick dragged my finger out of his mouth, his teeth scraping gently over my skin. My whole body grew tight with lust, and I panted a little.
“So no threesome in your childhood bed?”
Otto was still staring with hooded eyes, his lip sucked between his teeth. Finally, he shook his head. “No, Drix. You know the rules.”
Hendrick rolled his eyes, but leaned forward to give me a quick kiss. “Then let’s get this over with, so we can go home and do it on the marriage bed instead.”
I laughed as I shifted off his lap, pouting at the impressive erection currently straining against the fabric of his pants. What a waste. Hendrick thrust a stack of folders into my hands, and honest to god, smoldered at me.
“Stop looking so forlornly at my cock, Viva. You’ll give it a complex. Come on, we’ll scan these things in John’s office.”
I clutched the papers to my chest, walking over to Otto as Drix tucked his dick into the waistband of his pants. I mean, I wasn’t the only one who thought that was kind of impressive, right?
Otto wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close to his chest so he could kiss me. It was a tender kiss, filled with feeling, and I melted into a puddle of goo at his feet. He kissed both my cheeks and squeezed me tighter before finally letting me go.
“You’ve been really brave.”
I stood up on my toes and kissed his chin. “They’re your parents, not a firing squad.”
Hendrick huffed. “That comes later.”
I couldn’t tell if he was joking or not, but still, I followed him out of the room and down the hall. Otto had said his dad was an architect, so I’d assumed that they would live in a place he’d designed, but apparently Otto’s family had lived in this house for generations. His great-grandfather had built it, and it had trickled down to his mother, and eventually it would come to him. It was a beautiful old home, with more character than you could get from concrete and glass.
