by Cee, DW
Ah. I now figured out where his mind was going. I opened up a few of the dresser drawers that had his clothes on one side and mine on the other, then I walked him into the bathroom where our toiletries were beautifully laid out next to one another. Finally! That sexy smile resurfaced.
“This is what I was doing last night when I couldn’t come over and spend the night with you, you surly man. And this,” I pointed to our bedding and towels, “was what I purchased at Harrods today. It cost me a bloody fortune to buy our bedding and towels. That’s why there are very few towels. I hope you do laundry because we will have to do it often.” Sadly, I wasn’t kidding. I could not buy a spare set of anything at those prices.
“My God, I love you.”
“I know,” I answered egotistically.
He perched himself on the bed and bounced around a little, then explored the high thread count sheets under the duvet. “This feels really good. It’ll feel even better when we’re both naked.” He pulled me onto the bed with him and we fell back. “I’ll give you my credit card before I leave. Go back to Harrods and buy another set or two of everything.”
“No thank you.”
“Why not?” Now he perched himself on top of me.
“Because, Mr. Taylor, they will let not me use your credit card first of all, and secondly, I am not your mistress where you go around setting up accounts for her to go shopping. I’m sure that happened plenty in old England, but nowadays we don’t do that kind of stuff for our girlfriends. Plus, I feel cheap and easy.” I giggled.
“Princess, there ain’t anything cheap or easy about you. And soon you’ll be my wife, and we’ll be sharing accounts anyhow. You’ll just start a little earlier.”
“I’ll just go and get cheaper bed and bathroom paraphernalia somewhere else. There must be a Target or Bed Bath and Beyond equivalent here. I just wanted our first night here to be extra special.”
“Any night with you is special.” Donovan pulled me on top of him, and I laid my head in the crook of his neck and shoulder. His arms wrapped around me. “I love being with you.”
“Me too.” I mused.
“This feels like we’re married, though we are not! I’ve thought through you and me and us and I still don’t know what the hell I’m doing wrong. You love me, I love you. You’ve asked me to marry you. Shit! I got it. I need to answer you. That’s the answer. I need to say, ‘YES!’ Is that why you refuse to marry me?” Donovan shook me a little. “You asleep there?”
“No.” I answered dreamily. “I was building castles in the sky with you as my prince and me as the princess. What were you saying?”
“Finally, I have the answer to why you won’t marry me.”
Putting my chin on the hands that were resting on Donovan’s chest, I asked, “What’s the answer?”
“Yes, I will marry you,” he announced proudly.
“I know you’ll marry me.” I answered pragmatically.
“You weren’t waiting for me to answer your proposal?”
My head bobbed on his chest as I laughed. “No...guess again.” I practically sang.
“All right, back to the drawing board on that one.” He kissed the top of my head. “What happened here? Why all of a sudden are we living together?”
“You complaining?” I was still in a very relaxed and lost-in-beautiful-thought kind of mood.
“No way. I just need to know who to thank for this fantastic surprise.”
“You can thank my crazy mother who thought it was fine for her daughter to live in sin with a man she’s been dating for only a week.”
“We’ve been together longer than a week.” He joined my good mood. “It’s been like ten days, though when you get obstinate, it feels like ten years.”
“Funny. You’re lucky I’m feeling so good right now. I think I could stay like this forever.”
Donovan continued rubbing my back until we heard an “Unca!” That high-pitched yell could only mean one thing. Elizabeth Reid. “Ne Ne. No!” She chided me as she tried her best to climb up our tall bed. I rolled off Donovan as he picked up his goddaughter. James was not far behind.
“Come here, James.” Donovan picked him up too and handed him to me.
James busily played with his robot while Ellie chatted away with her “Unca.” Donovan was enamored with the way she called out to him.
“Ellie, my beautiful goddaughter. You and I will see each other every day for a while from now on. Are you happy about that?”
“Yesh!” She had no clue what he said but from the smile on Donovan’s face, she knew it was something good. This Ellie Reid was definitely life smarter than I ever was.
“Should Uncle Donovan and Auntie Laney take you and James to the aquarium next week?”
“Yesh!” This time the twins answered simultaneously.
“They’ve been to the aquarium already, so they know what you’re talking about.” I clued Donovan in.
“Do you love your Uncle Donovan?”
“Yesh!”
“Do you love your Auntie Laney?”
“Yesh.” James answered.
“No!” Ellie responded firmly. “My Unca!” She admonished with her index finger.
“You are too smart for your own good.” I tickled Ellie and kissed her cheek.
“No, Ne Ne! No kiss.”
Donovan was loving Ellie’s brattiness. “As much as your uncle would like to play with you, I need to get back to work.”
“Really? I thought you were home for the night.”
Donovan leaned over and kissed me tenderly. “I’ll be home as soon as I can.”
“No kiss!” Ellie didn’t like the attention I was getting from her ‘Unca.’
We brought both kids downstairs and Donovan said his good-byes to everyone.
“Donovan.”
“Yes, Gram?”
“There are cars downstairs in the garage. You may drive any one of them.”
“Grandpa Jerry still have the Jaguar E-Type?”
“You boys are all the same.” Gram answered. “It’s in the mews, turned garage, unless Jake took it out today. Have Laney show you where the keys are and drive what you like.”
“Thank you, Gram.” He smiled wide and kissed all the ladies good-bye, again.
The Jag was taken already so Donovan hopped into the Range Rover and said his last good-byes to me. “Most likely it’ll be late when I get back. We’ve a mound of work to do and I spent too much time this afternoon with the woman I love madly.”
“I’ll stay up and wait for you in my old room till you get home. Call me later.”
“No going out with Michael, or any other man who asks you to a meal.”
“Yes, Sir.” That earned me another kiss.
Donovan never made it home last night, and he was still at the office when I got a call from him in the early afternoon.
“Hi!” I missed not being with him last night, but understood he had played too much with me last week.
“Hi, Princess. You still helping feed the kids?”
“No. I’m getting ready to take Gram to the beauty salon. She told me that we are both to get our skins pampered and our hairs coiffed for tonight’s event.”
“I can’t wait to see the result, though you look gorgeous with no makeup and your hair tied back. Extra pampering might bring more attention to you.”
“I doubt it. It’s Gram who will command attention with her flawless skin and striking presence.”
Donovan agreed. “Babe. I’m calling because I don’t think I can make it home before tonight’s function. Can you get my suit and everything that goes with it and send it with a delivery service to the office?”
“Where will you shower and change?”
“Roland’s office. I will also have to meet you at the event. We are working till the last minute.”
“You must be so tired. Have you slept at all?”
“For about an hour. This is ho
w much I usually work when it’s busy.”
“You never seemed this busy all those months I saw you back in the States.”
“That’s because I made time to see you. What you didn’t see was me going back to the office after I dropped you off, or bringing work home. You see how much I loved you even back then?”
I didn’t fall for that one. “Whatever. When Gram and I go out, I’ll bring you everything you need. Are we still going with the camellia theme, tonight?”
“Yep.”
“I’m wearing this under my dress tonight.” I sent him a picture of a low cut lace bustier with matching lace panties, and lace-up front garter with straps to hold up the silky thigh-high stockings.
“Ah shit! Babe you can’t do this to me mid-day. I don’t need to walk around the office with a boner.”
“And I bought a matching bra that has a flimsy tie in the front, though I won’t wear the bra tonight.”
“Princess. I need to get some work done,” Donovan whined.
“OK. Once last thing...” I then sent him a selfie of me in a black nightie, similar to the French-laced garter and panties.
“You’re killing me!” He groaned aloud. “I’m going to require you to come up and relieve me when you drop off the suit.”
“But Gram will be waiting in the car,” I answered with innocence. “I’ll relieve you plenty when you come home. I’ve yet to try out our bed.”
“Damn. Now I’m going to look at this picture the rest of the day and be horny. When are you stopping by?”
“Soon.”
“Be ready for a quickie in my office.”
Damn. Talk about getting horny. The thought of having sex in his office was making me pulsate. “Oh, no, Donovan,” I coyly answered, “I can’t have sex with you in the office, but I’ll give you a preview of the new teal and hot pink bra and thong I picked up at Harvey Nics.” I took a barely-there, peak-a-boo snapshot of the thong I was wearing and sent one last picture. “See you soon.” I hung up before he responded, very satisfied with myself.
I got all of Donovan’s clothes ready, and Gram and I left for the office. Knowing I didn’t like driving on the wrong side of the car and road, but most likely because Donovan wanted me in his office, ASAP, he sent us the company car.
“Gram, would you like to come in and say hello to Grandfather? I won’t take long dropping this off if you prefer to wait.”
“I’ll wait. You go ahead. If you see your grandfather, give him a kiss for me.”
“Will do.”
I was all smiles walking into the building. Of course the first person I ran into when stepping off the elevator was none other than Kate Beauvais, but I didn’t give a shit. Smiling and waving only, I walked off before I had to talk to her.
“Knock, knock.” I called out to my boyfriend who was hard at work. “You look awfully dapper for a man who hardly slept last night. And where did that suit come from, considering you didn’t come home to change?” My attempt at a disapproving look probably failed miserably since a smile wouldn’t leave my face.
The pulsing resumed as soon as this handsome man greeted me with a you-are-the-love-of-my-life, look. He frosted his office windows and slithered over to me like I was his prey and he was the captor. Once his clothes were out of my hands and carelessly thrown onto the sofa, he asked, “Are you the one they sent to remedy my ailment?” His lips grazed my bare shoulders without his hands ever touching me. It was incredibly arousing.
“Oh no, Sir. I’m no doctor, yet. I can’t cure any afflictions.” I boldly put my hand on his erection and asked a question of my own. “Is this where it hurts?” I couldn’t believe that little ole me had become such a hussy.
Donovan turned me around, pushed me up against his desk and lifted up my skirt.
“Donovan, Gram is waiting outside. I won’t be able to face her if I’m here even a minute longer.”
“Then you shouldn’t have sent me those pictures. Plus, you promised to show me your underwear and bra.” He caressed from the outside of the silky underwear.
“I need to go,” I panted a complaint.
His hand came around to the front of my thong and was about to go inside when a knock on the door made me frantically readjust my outfit. Donovan gave me one last lingering kiss and answered, “Come in.”
“Our meeting is about to start.”
“I’ll be right there.”
“Does Kate play your PA before every meeting?” I was more annoyed with myself for being the jealous girlfriend, than with Kate who purposely interrupted us.
“No, but you can role-play my PA tonight.” Donovan suggested. “Tonight!” He promised and threatened with a slap to my rear end.
We walked out together, and I went over and hugged and kissed my grandfather who was walking toward us.
“Do you greet every man with such enthusiasm?”
“Only the handsome ones, Grandfather.” Then I added one more kiss. “And that was from your wife. Have a productive meeting.” I waved good-bye and walked into the sunset.
Gram indulged the both of us in a facial, massage, and hair and make-up treatments. When we got home, all we had to do was put on our gowns and get in the car.
“You look beautiful, Gram!” At her age, my grandmother was a knockout. Out of all the grandchildren, Jane most resembled her. Gram, too, had the dark hair, thanks to coloring magic, bright blue eyes, and a fair complexion. Gram, Jane, and Ellie in a portrait would be stunning.
“Thank you, Dear. You look beautiful as well. Donovan won’t be able to concentrate tonight.”
“And neither will Grandfather.”
The firm function was a rooftop party on their building. Initially, I dreaded being outside in the heat and humidity, but tonight turned out to be a beautiful night. My grandmother caused quite a commotion as she walked in as though she owned the place. She was Queen Estelle and commanded attention without uttering a word. I’d do well to learn this trait from her.
All the sycophants came over in droves as soon as we entered the party. Gram was beseeched with praise and adoration.
“Hello, Sexy.” A deep, husky voice greeted me with a kiss on my neck from behind with his hand placed scandalously low on my hips.
“Um, excuse me Sir, but I’m meeting the love of my life here. I ask you to kindly take your hands and lips off me.” I continued this role-play.
“This love of your life is a lucky man.” His kissing turned into devouring. I could feel myself heating up.
“He sure is,” I answered with false innocence.
“Won’t you come downstairs to my empty office and lay on my desk while I pleasure you?”
I prayed no one saw me quiver and practically buckle at the knees after that indecent offer. Turning around to face him, I placed my arms around him and answered him with an incendiary kiss. “Good evening, Mr. Taylor.”
“You look stunning, my love.”
“Thank you. It’s all thanks to my grandmother whose motto is ‘a girl can’t have too many diamonds, too much lingerie, and never leave the house without make-up.’ I don’t have diamonds, I don’t always wear make-up, but I’m working to build up the lingerie collection.”
He smiled and kissed me one more time.
“This is a work event, Donovan.” Grandfather broke us up in jest.
“Laney, you look almost as beautiful as my wife, tonight.”
“Thank you, Grandfather. I think if you were fifty years younger, you’d definitely be the front runner in the handsome category.”
“I knew there was a reason why I liked you.” Grandfather indulged me in a kiss.
“Like, but still not a favorite with anyone.” My hurt expression fooled no one. “Jake will forever be Gram’s favorite, and Jane will forever be yours.”
“I see why you’re such a fool in love, Donovan. She reminds me of Estelle when I first met her in Paris. Beautiful, playful, bust-your-balls tough if you cros
s her. She’s a keeper.”
“She sure is, Roland.” As Gram said earlier, Donovan only had eyes for me. “Babe,” he whispered, “I need to go say hello to a potential client. Do you want to greet him with me?”
“Can I help you in a few minutes after I go fix my lipstick? I’m sure that flagrant kiss earlier is making my lips look like Bobo the Clown.”
“I’d make out with Bobo the Clown any day if he looked like you.”
“See you soon.”
Dazed from feeling so loved, I practically waltzed into the bathroom, but stopped dead in my tracks when I heard, “You know Donovan is only dating her because she’s Roland’s wife’s granddaughter.” I had no idea of the identity of the woman who just spoke.
“I was told he’s to inherit a big part of the company if he marries her. That’s why he’s lavishing so much attention on her. Back when we were together, I couldn’t figure out why he was so interested in her. Now I get it.” This voice, I knew all too well.
“It’s not like she’s got anything going for her. She’s just living off her grandparents’ wealth. Don’t worry, Kate. Donovan has always come back to you. Ten years is a long time to love someone. That’s not simply forgotten. Not even for a piece of a law firm. And it’s not like you haven’t amassed your own fortune.”
“Oh, I’m not worried. I know he’ll come back. He always has.”
Hurrying away from the bathroom, I kept telling myself that Kate was a spiteful bitch and I had nothing to worry about where Donovan’s love was concerned. Obviously, the fact that Donovan wanted to marry me instead of Kate pissed her off enough to try and spread lies and rumors. Still, what I had heard was unsettling. No one had informed me that I came with a law firm dowry, not my grandparents, parents, or Donovan.
“You all right?” Donovan reached out and brought me closer to him.
“Yeah.” I answered and tried to put on a happy face for the clients.
I “worked” the party the best I could, laughing where required, and answering questions where needed. The evening was a long one and smiling, when it didn’t reach my heart, wore me out.