by Phavy Prieto
"Stop!" he ordered laughing. "I will hire a chef to come and cook at home and leave before my mother arrives. Does this seem a good solution to you?" he said brushing my ear with his nose and I shivered to the point that I forgot what he had just said.
"Sure," I whispered agreeing with him like a fool, because I could only think of those hands clinging tightly to my waist that moved slowly upwards.
"Superb. Then it's all cleared up," he murmured so close that I felt his lips brushing my neck. His hands made me turn quickly and I looked directly into his eyes, surprisingly dark with desire that accompanied the force transmitted by every feature of his face, as manly as his essence. "If I kiss you right now, I'm not sure we'll be on time for the concert, because I would drag you to my bed and hold you there until tomorrow. You choose. Do you want me to kiss you?"
Goodbye, panties! Bye-bye, we'll never see each other again.
From his tone I knew he wasn't joking. I could feel the fire transpire from the pores of his skin that warmed my body so close to his. I wasn’t sure that I could control myself and that I could escape from perdition that he was promising. Not even all the chocolate in the world could distract me from what I felt for Damian. He could also make me forget about my favourite band’s concert for which I had endured that hellish torment with Steven. He managed to make everything else insignificant. And that feeling terrified me.
I had crushes on a lot of boys before. In fact, I had often let myself get involved more than I wanted, but never to the point of giving up everything for any of them.
"I forbid you to kiss me," I said, closing my eyes before even thinking of what I had just said out loud.
I didn't want to admit that feeling to myself. If I did it, it would have been really disturbing, keeping in mind the end already written by Damian himself. I was not his girlfriend, let alone his fiancée. I was one of the employees of a certain rank who worked for his company. And that was the end of the story. Even if it was clear that there was certain chemistry and we had a lot of fun in bed, I had to be realistic: I was not the type of woman who could suit someone like him. I was only the list freak, the accounts fanatic, and the black planner weirdo who needed to control everything.
When I opened my eyes, I unexpectedly found a sweet smile drawn on his face. I would expect a reaction of amazement or anger from him for having broken the passion of the moment. Instead Adonis seemed to take my answer very well. I wondered if he did it because deep down he really needed me. Come what may, I could not help but focus my gaze on those lips that lusted to be kissed. Did I seriously forbid him to kiss me?
Shit! I want to rectify, I want to rectify, I want to rectify! To hell with everything! I'm dying for a kiss from him! I am not even able to understand myself.
We went to the concert by his car. Although he asked me how my week at work had gone just to have a neutral topic for conversation, I couldn't relax after what had happened in his apartment.
Would he really never kiss me again? The truth was that I didn’t know whether I wanted to know the answer.
I had to admit that despite having dreamt dozens of times of going to a concert of those four men with masterful angelic voices, I never thought I would feel so much tension just because there was a man at my side capable of making me nervous, restless and excited at the same time. Even in that theater, where the acoustics made the music resonate in such an involving way, I was unable to relax because I could not stop thinking about what could happen that night or the next night or the one after. I was about to go and live in the apartment of a man from the cover of Men's Health. It was as if any woman's dreams were about to become true: he was handsome, rich, with a smile from a toothpaste commercial, he was also nice but as tough as an expired nougat.
"You've been quieter than usual," he said as soon as we got back into the car. "I thought you would be the type of person who screams like a teenager at a concert. I was even mentally prepared for it."
"Oh, please!" I exclaimed as if that was the last thing I would do in the world. Deep down, I perfectly knew that if Damian hadn't been with me, I would have done exactly what half the girls at the concert did. "Just because they're four handsome and attractive men with outstanding voices, I'm not going to..."
My speech was interrupted by his thunderous laughter. Was it me or was this guy making fun of me?
We both fastened our seat belt.
"What’s so funny?" I asked annoyed.
"That you deny that you were dying to scream at the concert. Tell me, do you also find me as handsome and attractive as those guys?" he said half-seriously.
"Do you want the truth or a vile lie?" I replied with another question in an attempt to make myself interesting.
"A vile lie," he chose, staring at me in the dark of the cabin, still with the engine off.
"You're uglier than a foot," I said looking away and biting my lip to contain my laughter.
Why was I behaving like this with that man? I was usually quite cold, distant and even formal with all my previous dates. But Adonis was able to make me feel uninhibited like no one else before, as if something had started flowing inside me again, revealing my true nature.
"That means you find me handsome, doesn't it?" he replied laughing.
He started the engine, drove out of the parking lot and headed towards his house. Or so I supposed. The thought of returning to his place, where I had left my car parked, made all the sirens go off and the red lights turned on in my head: was the lingerie that I had chosen adequate? Yes, of course it was.
"I've already admitted that you weren't ugly, so don't push your luck!" I said without telling him what I really thought of him.
It seemed to me that Damian Devoir was somewhat a vain man. But, man! How could he not be with that tremendous body and that angel's face? I admitted it: if I had been in his place, I too would have had an ego that would have reached Saturn. I still didn't understand how Rebecca, that brainless busty giraffe, had decided to ditch him. Maybe she suffered from cataracts at an early age. I couldn’t find any other plausible answer because I wouldn’t change that six pack abs, that passionate and seductive gaze and, of course, that killer smile not even for all the gold in the world.
"Okay, okay," he replied with a hint of a smile.
Damian could be vain, but he was also quite a nice and outspoken guy, who had nothing to do with those pretentious and proud executives who always kept a cold and detached facade towards everyone, as if they were carrying a sign with the words: "I am untouchable". On the contrary, Damian seemed a down-to-earth, personable and spontaneous person. Almost from the first minute I had the feeling that the guy wasn't a jerk and that was a problem for my fragile little heart. "What if I take you straight home and pick you up to take you to work tomorrow? I’d rather you didn’t drive at this time of the night."
"Better not. I have the briefcase with my planner in the car and I'd like to..."
"I don’t think you should go over any reports tonight. Also, I forbid you to work outside your work hours. I'm your boss and I can tell you this," he replied, interrupting my speech.
I needed my planner! I didn't know how to live without my planner!
"I really appreciate it, but I prefer to go to work on my own or everyone will think that..."
"Let them think what they want," he interrupted me again. "Besides, sooner or later, rumors will spread at the office about the fact that you are my fiancée and that reminds me that from now on you will have to wear the engagement ring, whether you like it or not. Open the glove compartment," he said as if it were an order I couldn't disobey.
I opened the glove compartment with delicacy and saw the velvet box. Had he not returned it? Obviously not, since that precious ring was right there in front of me.
"You know this isn't right," I said as I slid the ring back on my finger, hoping that my words were a warning for me too. "We are making fun of everyone and I feel terribly guilty about it," I underlined.
I was
aware that every further step in that direction would involve me emotionally more and more.
"I have something to propose to you," he said as he slowed down until we stopped in a street with little traffic. I sensed that he had something important to tell me.
"What?" I asked worried by his silence.
"Let's pretend it is true, that all this is real," he began as if he was proposing it seriously. "Imagine that, for whatever reason, neither of us will ever find the person who we would want to marry or move in with and start a family," he continued. "Imagine that what we want and what we are about to pretend to be, will never happen to us in future, that we will never have it," he said as if it was a real possibility. "Why can't we just pretend it's all true now?"
"Maybe because it's not true at all!" I exclaimed incredulously.
"Who says it isn't?" he asked, getting so close that I felt his breath. "Don't you think it's possible that I'm madly in love with you? Or that you drive me so crazy that I want to spend the rest of my life by your side? You might be that person," he whispered in a deep, velvety voice that made me shiver.
"But you don't even know me!" I exclaimed trying to be rational so as not to get carried away by his words. I needed a good dose of realism and not daydreams adorned with romance.
"I know you perfectly and I know that your problem is that you are unable to let yourself go: for once in your life, let yourself be carried away. Show me that you are not a coward and that you are capable of accepting what I propose to you."
What the hell was that all about? Pretending he was really my fiancée? Telling everyone that we were getting married and assuming that all that shit was real? That meant fooling ourselves and others! Whether that game had any meaning to him, I could not make head nor tail. Although in one respect I agreed with him: in my life I might never meet the right person to live with.
"I'm not a coward," I replied, studying his reactions.
"Then accept to live these two weeks as if everything was truly real, with all the consequences," he said so seriously and with such conviction that even I felt my legs tremble because I knew he meant it.
What could happen? Probably nothing of what I didn’t know already. Denying myself this chance would confirm that it was true that I always did things with extreme caution, that I never embarked on an adventure. In fact, I lived in a kind of fortress from which I rarely went out. My excuse was that no one ever came to take me out of my comfort zone. Since I met Damian Devoir, my comfort zone began to wobble and I lived those days with him more intensely than ever in my life. Somehow Adonis made me feel alive, and I knew perfectly well that I would never refuse his offer.
"I'll be entirely yours for two weeks, Mr. Devoir," I agreed, returning that intriguing glance. "I accept your proposal."
"Then I must remind you that, as my future bride, you will never forbid me to kiss you again," he answered, brushing my lips with his. "Our agreement will be in effect from tomorrow, when we make an official announcement at the company to inform about the new entry into the Devoir family."
Official announcement? Oh, no! I was going to have a heart attack. When he said "real", he really meant it. My God, where have I ended up? But I knew there was no going back.
Chapter XV
To my great disappointment, Damian did not kiss me. He simply moved away from me and, as promised, took me straight home without stopping at his place. I knew that insisting on asking him to do the opposite wouldn't work. That man was always able to get what he wanted from me, in one way or another, and made me feel like a puppet in his hands. I wondered if it was better to run away before I ended up in the wolf's mouth.
"I'll pick you up tomorrow at a quarter to eight. Do you want me to wake you up?" he asked once we arrived in front of the entrance of my building. There was no light coming from the windows of our apartment, and I thought Nerea was already in bed or hanging out with her boyfriend.
"Wake me up?" I asked without understanding why.
"You always set the alarm for the next day before going to bed, but your planner is in the car."
How many things did that man know about my life? Surely he also knew what days I waxed or which underwear I was wearing.
"Ah, yes. Don't bother, it’s not necessary."
Mental note: Maria, don't you dare forget to set the alarm!
"It's no trouble and it doesn't cost me anything," he whispered. "I'd like to hear your voice when you wake up."
"Kiss me! I want you to kiss me!" I screamed inside my head looking at how those sensual lips moved and how close they were.
"Well, yes, in that case, you can... you..."
Am I an idiot? Of course, I am! I don't even know why I’m asking myself.
"I'll call you tomorrow, Miss Acosta. I’d better go and rest now. From tomorrow you will be officially my fiancée."
"That sounds good!" I murmured, as I slowly opened the door and tried to get out of the car. My legs were shaking. I hoped he would stop me to kiss me goodnight, but he didn't, and I knew that at least this time he wasn't going to.
"See you tomorrow, Mr. Devoir," I replied biting my lip.
He didn’t leave until I entered the building even this time. Once inside, I put a hand on my head thinking about all the mess I got myself into.
To my surprise, I found Nerea at home. She was in the living room, with the lights off, sitting on the sofa and watching a film on TV.
"Hi!" I said, leaving my bag on a kitchen stool and walking over to the sofa.
As I took off my shoes, I saw that Nerea was eating ice cream.
"Hi," she replied seriously. Then she put a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth. That could mean only one thing: love problems. And behind a broken heart there was always a man.
"Tell me what happened?" I asked, sitting on the sofa next to her and covering myself with the same blanket she had on her legs.
"I argued with Mathews," she said concisely as if she wanted me to ask more questions. I imagined she needed to get that weight off her shoulders and, whether she liked it or not, I was the only one to vent with in that house.
"Men, right?" I said.
"Isn't it normal that I want a change in our relationship? I'm tired of never being alone with him and of always going out with his friends or that pesky cousin of his."
"Oh, now you say he is pesky? Wasn't he a sweetheart?" I answered ironically.
"But you hated him from the minute you met him!" she exclaimed as I put my finger in her ice cream to taste it. I was hungry since I had not eaten yet.
"Did you guys break up?" I asked since I didn't know how serious things were.
"No, we just argued and I came home," she said taking another spoonful of ice cream.
"What's the problem? From what you told me, it seemed that Mathews was the perfect man."
"Yes," she admitted, "the perfect man, except that I’m tired of spending all the time we have together with someone else. At least we could be alone in his apartment before. Now we don't even have that!" she shouted as if she had described the real cause of the problem, which was they couldn't even have sex freely.
"And what does he say about it?" I asked, sticking my finger back into the jar of vanilla ice cream with macadamia nuts. It was so good that I got up to take a spoon.
"Him?" she sighed. "He said that he can't do anything because Steven is his cousin and I can't expect him to kick him out of the house."
"You just need to be patient until Steven leaves. Didn't you say he was dating someone?" I asked, trying to minimize the problem."
"It’s better to say he was dating someone, but she didn't know it. And the girl magically disappeared into thin air."
"Why doesn’t that surprise me?" I muttered sitting back on the sofa again. "If the problem is only that you don't spend time alone with him, you could bring him home," I said. After all, I loved Nerea and wanted the best for her, even if that best was called Mathews who, in my opinion, was a bit snobbish.
"I thou
ght about it too, but with you in the front room, no, thanks. I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable or make you leave because we're here. It’s better to go to a hotel."
"I have to tell you that I'm going to leave the apartment for a couple of weeks tomorrow," I confessed trying not to make it sound too important, as if that was the most normal thing in the world.
"Are you leaving because of work?" she asked a little surprised.
"It's a bit long to tell, but it's not for work. In fact, I’m staying in town or rather in a luxury penthouse owned by Mr. Devoir."
"What?" she yelled leaving me half deaf. "Now you absolutely have to tell me everything!" she said, holding the ice cream away from me so I couldn't reach it with my spoon.
"Okay, I'll tell you, but give me back that damn ice cream. It's so good. And don’t buy it again! " I replied, beginning to reluctantly describe the absurd plan of Adonis.
"I can't believe it," Nerea kept repeating while, at regular intervals of thirty seconds, she looked at the stunning ring I was wearing on my finger as if she needed a proof to convince herself that it was true. "How is it possible that you accepted it? You are not able to go downtown without having planned it at least six months in advance?"
"Oh God, don't exaggerate!" I moaned rolling my eyes. But she was right. I didn't even know why I had accepted it or, rather, I didn't even want to think about it. "You should have seen that witch of his ex. She keeps believing that he is still pining for her and I accepted it just to slam in her face that she's wrong."
"Maria, do you hear yourself?" she asked as she shifted on the sofa to position herself in front of me. "You're jealous and you don't even realize it."
"Jealous? Me? Never!" I snorted getting up from the sofa. "Damian Devoir is not mine, as much as he may pretend to be in the next two weeks. I couldn't be jealous of something that doesn't exist."
"Go and tell someone else because you can't fool me. You're attracted to this guy and you don't even realize how much."