Love and the White Wolf - Book 1

19. Back to Brooklyn (Sexual content)

Even though this was a sheik's private jet we had to go through customs after our return. When the customs officer scanned James's passport he looked at the age on it and said "this isn't right". He finally called in a supervisor who entered a code into the computer. A special notation popped up verifying James's age. They welcomed us home and as we came through the gate we saw Gus and Maria waiting in the arrivals area. Soon we were on our way to their home. It had been only a week since we had last seen them but it felt much longer. We told them of our adventures which shocked them that we were so matter-fact about it. As we drew closer to their house Maria hoped we wouldn't mind being in the pool house so we could have privacy. James was interested in having a swim when we arrived. Maria didn't miss a beat and agreed it would be a great idea. She was quite determined to see James shirtless and I couldn't blame her.

The pool house was actually quite nice. It was like an air conditioned studio apartment with a full bathroom, mini kitchen (with stocked fridge), queen sized bed, and small living room complete with tv. Next to it was a small change room with an outdoor shower. The pool took up most of the backyard and had a springboard and slide at one end. The deck beside the house was covered except at one end which had the biggest bbq I had ever seen.

I came out first in my blue bikini and sat on the covered deck with Maria and Gus who tried not to show he was watching as I had walked around the pool. Being so fair skinned I had to apply some strong waterproof sunscreen first. James came out wearing a long sleeved swim shirt (deliberately I might add) over his swim trunks and strode confidently to the springboard. He performed a perfect forward dive in pike position with barely a splash on the entry. It was impressive in its simplicity. He then did several laps of freestyle also with very little splash. He pulled himself out of the pool with hardly any effort and stood in front of the deck. Then in one quick move he pulled the shirt off over his head.

"Holy," whispered Maria.

"Fuck," whispered Gus.

"You owe me $20, Barnes," I laughed gleefully. "I said they would both have a reaction."

Maria and Gus were both embarrassed but James and I started laughing and they soon realized we had set them up. After a few minutes they both were making fun of themselves and joked about pulling the same prank on their kids. We said we were game so they phoned their four kids and invited them over for a pool party. Maria realized she would need to prepare more food for the expected hordes of kids, spouses, and grandchildren. I offered to help and slipped my coverup on, as I followed her into the house.

"Well, thank you, Gail," she said warmly, "that was worth waiting for. That is one fine looking man you have. I noticed Gus watching you too, but that's okay. I know you and Buck only have eyes for each other."

"James knows he has that effect on people," I replied. "He finds it funny. A friend in Wakanda described us as "a cup full of each other". I kind of liked it."

"Tell me how did he take Dottie's death?" she asked carefully.

I told her of how the news of it came so close after the two stressful incidents and that all three combined put him into a dark frame of mind. I told her how Black Panther (I didn't reveal he was the king) found it necessary to engage him in physical battle to help purge the negative emotions. She'd had a glimpse of the dark part of James's personality during the incident on Coney Island but couldn't imagine him engaged in an all-out battle that exhausted him to the point of collapse.

"Has Gus ever been sick enough that you had to be his nursemaid?" I asked politely.

"He had a heart attack three years ago that laid him out," she admitted.