She recovered herself and sighed into my neck, “You are all so good to me.” She kissed my neck and breathed the next words out, almost smothered b...y my neck, “Can I touch you, please?”I took her hand in mine and moved it to my breast. “I love it when you touch me, Helen.”She was fondling my breast and playing with the nipple. We were quiet and I could tell she was thinking more. That’s when Mom came through the door, saw us, closed the door and continued to us without missing a step. She was. This particular get together was mostly for show so everyone who drew the short straw for their particular organizations came, sucked up the hors d'oeuvres of pate de foie gras or stuffed shrimp on crackers or whatever else was floating around on the platters carried by the cummerbund-attired waiters and washed them down with the flutes of champagne offered by the servers in short black dresses.I had made it through the receiving line, extending my best wishes to the prime minister of one of. Maria clearly didn't like to disappoint Paul Warren. She might think his attitude was wrongheaded on this one, but, even so... "What do you think will happen?" she asked me."I don't know. The player roster has just been expanded for September. We've got several new guys up from the minors, including a couple of lefthanders. Maybe he'll freeze me out -- just not use me." Wouldn't that hurt the club?" Well, yeah," I said. "I certainly think it would." Hard to believe Paul would do anything that. “Why didn’t you kill Prince Konnor? The word in the city was that he poisoned you.”“He’s Megan’s father,” I half shrugged and it almost cost me as I was slightly off on a parry from one of her probes.“So, the rumors were true...”Tired of being on the defensive for the last twenty minutes, I riposted from one of her short attacks and made her back off by my aggressiveness. Our speed stayed the same, something like the equivalent of a brisk walk.“Nope, we never went far. Megan, well, Megan.