Guilty Pleasures

by Deborah Fletcher Mello

  Watching her pleasure him, her head bobbing up and down, sent him over the edge. He murmured her name over and over again as if in prayer, the soulful mantra resounding through the room. His orgasm was intense. He spewed his seed on a down stroke, and Sarai never missed a beat, continuing to knead and suck and caress him with her lips until she’d milked him dry. Her mouth never left his flaccid member as her tongue continued to flick back and forth against his flesh. And then he fell into a deep slumber, her name still vibrating out of his mouth.

  * * *

  When Alexander opened his eyes again, the lights in the room had been dimmed. It was eerily quiet as he lay across the sofa, his gaze adjusting to the barest hint of light through the space. Someone had draped a blanket over his body, and it was pulled up to his shoulders. As he threw his legs onto the floor, he realized he was naked from the waist down. Looking around, he found his pants, briefs, and socks folded into a neat pile on the coffee table. His shoes rested beside the couch. He palmed his manhood and realized he needed to use the restroom, a full bladder anxious for his attention.

  Rising, he headed toward the bathroom. As he moved in that direction, he pulled his T-shirt up and over his head and tossed it to the floor. Minutes later, with relief found and his hands washed and dried, he moved into the suite’s bedroom. He was pleasantly surprised to find Sarai sound asleep in his bed. She lay in the center of the mattress, her body curled tightly around her pillow. Her hair lay loose around her head, the luscious locks a mass of thick waves.

  She was naked, the sheets tangled around her feet and falling down to the floor. Alexander stood watching her for a good few minutes. She was the most beautiful creature he’d ever beheld. She looked angelic and fragile, and he thought about how much he loved her. Knowing that she loved him had his heart beating a drum line in his chest, the pulsing sensation surging through every inch of his body. He suddenly wanted her again, trying to imagine if there would ever come a day when his desire would pale and he wouldn’t want more of her.

  He eased himself onto the bed, lifting one knee and then the other as he crawled up against her. He laid his body down beside hers, settling into the heat that billowed off her skin. Her lips were parted, her breath an easy exhale of air. It was like she was begging to be kissed. He lowered his face to hers to oblige. He touched her upper lip with the tip of his tongue, the gesture gentle and teasing. Then he slowly sucked her bottom lip into his mouth.

  Sarai woke with a slight start, a gasp of surprise and pleasure blowing into his mouth. She purred, the soft sound like a caressing breath against his ears. Sarai ran the tip of her own tongue over Alexander’s full lips. Delight rose up in his throat as he moaned his pleasure against her tongue.

  As he kissed her, his hands walked a heated trail over her body. His easy caresses were intoxicating, and she soon found herself drunk with wanting. The kiss was loving and intimate. She wanted to find the words to describe the wealth of sensations his touch was bringing forth, but the erotic sensations made thinking difficult. It was a tender moment, teasing and playful as they gently savored each other’s taste.

  Their kisses grew deeper, longer, and more insistent. Both found themselves lost in the tide of their growing passion. The dance that unfolded against the bedclothes was a graceful give and take, bare skin kissing bare skin. Their naked bodies were heated, damp with perspiration, sweat puddling in intimate places. Their mouths never parted as he fondled her breasts and palmed her buttocks, his body melting like butter against hers. They were both panting like they’d run a race. He licked her throat, her breasts, suckling her hardened nipples as his hands kneaded her thighs and caressed her abdomen. He parted her legs, his fingers tapping gently at the damp fold. He teased her clit with his thumb, gently rolling the engorged nub between his fingers. Her legs fell open, parting widely as she urged him to settle in.

  As he pushed his body into hers, he pressed his mouth back to her parted lips, his tongue plunging as deeply into her eager cavity as his cock plunged into the folds of her inner lining. Sarai stifled a low sob, the intensity of his kiss keeping her from crying out. He pushed and pulled himself into and out of her, his loving intense, demanding, urgent.

  They were an entanglement of arms and legs as they gyrated from one corner of the bed to the other. Beneath the soft lights that reflected into the room, both marveled at the beautiful contrast between her pale skin and his darker complexion. They were an exquisite blending, the sheer magnitude of how beautiful they were together overwhelming them both.

  They made love over and over again. Time seemed to stand still, everything falling into place to do their bidding. When the first sign of light shimmered through the windows, the morning sun beginning to rise against the Bangkok skyline, Alexander was still wrapped around her body. As Sarai lay curled in the armor of his arms, sleep slowly beginning to take hold, he kissed her one last time, then finally closed his eyes.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Breakfast was about to be over and lunch was about to start when Sarai and Alexander found their way to the Verandah Restaurant. His parents were just finishing their meal, the two plotting out their day. With only a few hours before they would all have to be ready for Zachary’s fight, neither wanted to stray too far from the hotel.

  Sitting outside with a wonderful view of the river, in the fresh air, was exactly what Sarai and Alexander needed to shake the sluggishness that was hanging heavily over them. Alexander imagined a cup of hot coffee would also help.

  As they approached the table, Mama Lynn laughed warmly.

  “Good morning, sleepyheads!”

  Westley tossed them both a raised brow. “Looks like you two done started the honeymoon already,” he teased.

  A blush colored both their cheeks, Alexander waving his head from side to side. “Good morning,” he said as he leaned to kiss his stepmother’s cheek. He pulled out a seat for Sarai, and they both sat down. “Did you two sleep well?” the matriarch asked.

  Sarai nodded, cutting an eye at Alexander.

  “I’m glad someone did,” Westley said. “I was too wound up to sleep. Have you talked to your brother this morning?”

  Sarai nodded again. “I spoke to my father a few minutes ago. Zachary was watching cartoons and eating Cheerios! He said to tell you that he wants all of us to come to the arena at six o’clock. Alexander, he wants you and your father to walk the gantlet with him and there are reserved seats for us all.”

  Alexander laughed. “The breakfast of champions!” he said, the meal one of their favorites when they were boys.

  Westley nodded, turning toward his wife. “We might as well stay in and relax. Maybe rest by the pool. We only have a few hours before we have to be ready.”

  “I was hoping to do a little shopping,” Mama Lynn said, clearly not agreeing with his game plan.

  Sarai shifted forward in her seat. “I would love to go shopping with you,” she said. “And we won’t need to go far. They have plenty of shops within walking distance.”

  The older woman clapped her hands together excitedly. “Maybe I can even find me a wig store!”

  Alexander laughed. “Sounds like I’m sitting by the pool with you, Pop!”

  His father nodded. “Looks like you need it, too.”

  A waitress came to take their orders. Alexander selected an omelet with fresh herbs, tomato, mushrooms, Gruyère cheese, ham, and asparagus, and a glass of papaya juice to go along with his pot of coffee. Sarai order roasted snow fish with sautéed spinach and mushrooms. Once the food arrived, the two ate eagerly, suddenly realizing they were starved. Once they’d eaten, the two women blew the men kisses and headed to the shops.

  “She’s a sweet girl,” Westley said, his gaze following behind the two women. “Real sweet. And I like her father even if he is a pain in my ass. Although I still don’t think he’s sure about you yet.”

  Alexander rested his juice glass on the table, turning toward his father. “Did he say something else to you that I sh
ould know about?”

  “Just that he was happy that you had the financial resources to take care of his baby girl.”

  His son shrugged. “It’s all good.”

  “They’ve got some funny ways over here, son. That’s one reason things didn’t work out with me and her mother. It always felt like it was more about my money and what I could do for her family than it was about me and what we were feeling for each other.”

  “So is that why you left and never came back?”

  The older man cut an eye in his child’s direction. “I just shared that with you because I want you to be sure about marrying this girl. So, that’s all I’m saying. It’s not too late if you want to change your mind.”

  Alexander rolled his eyes skyward. “So are you going to tell me about you and Gamon’s sister? And how Sarai’s mother fit into the mix? It seems like you had some kind of love triangle going on while you were here.”

  Westley leaned back in his seat, his mind seeming to drift into the past. He sighed as his gaze shifted back toward his son. “I was young and dumb. I was stationed at the US Embassy in Bangkok and I was only a few short months away from being transferred back to the States. I had met Gamon’s older sister, Tai, first. She was a nice girl but she wasn’t as innocent as her brother seems to think she was. She wanted a husband, she wanted out of Thailand, and she was willing to do anything and everything to make that happen. Of course, Gamon couldn’t see it. He was as protective of his sister as he is with his daughter. But Tai, well let’s just say she knew some tricks that kept a few of us coming back for more, if you know what I mean. But I would never tell her brother that.”

  Westley took a breath as he continued. “Then I met Sarai’s mother. Khim was everything Tai wasn’t. Khim managed to steal my heart and I almost gave up everything to stay here with her.”

  “So you loved her?”

  His father gave him a look as he nodded his head. “I did. I loved Khim very much. Back then I didn’t know that it was possible to love someone as much as I loved that woman.”

  “So what happened?”

  “You’ve seen enough to know that their culture is very different from ours. You marry a girl here and it’s expected that you’ll support her whole damn family. I just couldn’t handle all of the demands. Every time I turned around Khim’s family wanted money. Someone always had their hand out and Khim didn’t seem to understand why I had to say no. Back then, by their standards I was rich! So one day I gave her an ultimatum. Me or them. I was ready to take her back to the States and I really thought she loved me enough to leave. I honestly believed that we didn’t need anyone else as long as we had each other. I thought we were all the family we would ever need.”

  Westley lost himself in the memories for a moment, as he was taken back to a time he’d long laid to rest. He sighed, the weight of it like a heavy brick being launched into a glass window as he continued. “Khim couldn’t leave and I couldn’t stay. We kept in touch, wrote letters to each other for a few years, and then she met and married Gamon. A few years later, I met your mother and fell in love with her and we both moved on with our lives. End of story.”

  Alexander nodded. “Sarai doesn’t think her mother ever stopped loving you. She thinks she regretted how your relationship ended.”

  Westley shrugged. “Neither one of us had time for regrets. Gamon loved her. And he took good care of her. She loved him back and they worked very hard to make each other happy.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Because when I found out about her and Gamon, I came back to try and change her mind. I begged her to leave him and be with me. But she turned me down.”

  “Gamon doesn’t know this, does he?”

  Westley shook his head. “He may have suspected. He knew that Khim and I were acquainted. But there was no reason for him to know anything else. Khim chose him. Not me. It was enough that he thought I did his sister wrong.”

  Alexander shifted his eyes to the river boats that bobbed out on the water. When he turned back to his father, the old man was staring at him. He met the look evenly with one of his own. “I’m not going to change my mind. I love Sarai. I love her with every ounce of breath I have in me and I’m not going to lose her.”

  Westley nodded. Another moment passed before either spoke; then his father broke the silence. “I’m glad you and your brother are doing well together. Family is very important. Don’t you ever forget that.”

  The two men stood up, and Alexander gave his father a fist bump. “Let’s go check out the pool, Pop,” he said with the wink of an eye.

  Westley chuckled. “A bikini or two sure wouldn’t hurt right about now!”

  * * *

  A crowd was already beginning to line up at Ra-jadamnern Boxing Arena. When Alexander and his parents arrived, Sarai was already there. Gamon had called for her hours earlier, needing her to run interference with the media and sponsors trying to pull at Zachary’s attention.

  Gamon greeted his future son-in-law warmly, then pointed him toward the dressing room. His brother’s team were all standing anxiously out in the hallway, awaiting permission to go inside. But permission wasn’t being given. “He only say you,” Gamon pronounced.

  “Go make sure he’s okay,” Westley admonished, concern furrowing his brow.

  Alexander cast his eyes around, everyone staring back at him. With a quick nod, he sauntered the length of the hallway and entered the closed room.

  Moving into the space, he found his brother and Sarai huddled together in a corner of the room. She was holding both of his hands, their heads bowed together, foreheads brushing against each other. A wave of jealous emotion hit Alexander broadside, and he felt himself bristle with indignation. His entire body was suddenly a constricted knot. He clenched his fists, and his jaw tightened.

  He was just about to speak when Zachary suddenly looked his way. A wide grin blossomed full across his twin’s face, and relief seemed to flood the other man’s entire demeanor. Beside him, exhilaration gleamed from Sarai’s eyes. She was excited to see him as well. There was something in that moment that flooded Alexander with emotion he’d not been expecting, and he bit down hard against his bottom lip to regain a sense of control.

  “Hey, it’s about time!” Zachary exclaimed. “You had me scared for a minute.”

  Alexander nodded. “I didn’t mean to be late. Blame your mother. It took her forever to get ready. Something about the Asian hair she bought from an Asian.” He chuckled, trying to lighten the moment.

  Zachary gestured for him to join their little circle. “Come pray with me,” he said.

  As Alexander stepped between them, Sarai trailed her hand against his back. Concern pierced her expression as she noted the tension that had tightened the muscles across his back. She met his stare, her gaze questioning. “Are you okay?” she asked.

  Alexander nodded, feeling slightly foolish. He said nothing, only leaning to press a damp kiss to her cheek.

  Zachary grabbed his brother’s hand, and Sarai grabbed the other as the trio bowed their heads together. The blessing was short and sweet, his twin asking God to guide his punches, followed by Sarai echoing the sentiment in a Thai prayer for luck.

  “Sarai, can you give me and Alex a minute, please?” Zachary asked. “Tell everyone we won’t be much longer.”

  “Of course,” she said. She leaned to kiss Zachary’s cheek, then pressed her lips to Alexander’s lips. She gave him one last look as she brushed her hand down the side of his face in a sweet caress.

  The brothers watched as she exited the room, closing the door behind her. Zachary reached for the rolls of tape and passed them to his twin. “I didn’t want anyone else to wrap my hands. Do you mind?”

  Alexander shook his head. The two men stood toe-to-toe as he began to wrap the protective layer of material around his twin’s palms.

  “You got jealous there for a minute, didn’t you? I saw it on your face.”

  The brothers locked eyes. Al
exander hesitated for a brief second before responding. “Yeah,” he said. “I did. You two looked very cozy there for a minute. And, I’ll be honest, it surprised me.”

  Zachary blew a deep sigh. “We’ve come too far to fall apart now, A!”

  “I agree. I guess I still have some work to do.”

  “Your girl’s always been good luck for me. She made me pray my very first fight and she’s prayed with me each time since.”

  “She loves you.”

  “She’s in love with you. And damn, bro, I love you both! You’re my best friend and so is she. We’re family and we’re all good together. I don’t want us to mess that up. So at some point you’re going to need to trust me.”

  “I do trust you.”

  “Really? Because it didn’t look that way.”

  “I had a moment, okay? It’s no big thing. But I trust you. And I trust her.”

  Both allowed a moment of silence to fill the air around them. Alexander knew that if he had to explain to anyone why he’d suddenly felt envious of his twin and his girl when he’d seen the two so close together, he wouldn’t have been able to find the words. In that moment, though, he’d been haunted by their past, the hurt of it rising again like a phoenix from the ashes. And then he’d seen the joy and love on his brother’s face, and on Sarai’s, what they felt for him blinding. And just like that the past was gone; done and finished forever.

  He changed the subject. “Are you ready for this damn fight?”

  Zachary grinned. “Did she tell you that I had Cheerios for breakfast?”

  “The breakfast of champions!” they both exclaimed together, a fond memory from when they’d been boys.

  “A, I’ve got this,” Zachary said. “No one is taking my title!”

  Sarai suddenly peered back into the room. “Is everything okay? Everyone is starting to worry.”

  Alexander cut an eye in her direction, catching her gaze as she eyed the two of them. He smiled. “Yeah, baby, it’s all good,” he said as he pulled his twin into a one-armed hug. “It’s all good!”