by Meg MacRose
“I’m pretty sure that we’re seated at the same table. Why don’t we head there now? There should be some good red wines on the table. I know, because I picked them!” Nina winked at Helen and Mitch in a conspiratorial way.
“Now, Helen, if this man bores you, or you’ve just had enough, send his number through to me. He looks like a man who knows how to have a good time.”
Helen laughed with Nina, and Mitch couldn’t detect any jealousy or uneasiness in Helen. No doubt her friend Nina was a fun kind of person, an extrovert who liked to party. But while his little Helen had captivated his eye, nothing else was on his cards. He’d noticed the other male guests all giving Helen a look of appreciation as they walked over to their tables. He’d have to crank up his flirting with her, otherwise she would be going back to London and he would return to his beach house without any sort of interesting liaison between them.
Chapter 4
Helen looked over at him seated next to her. He epitomised the muscly toned surfie look. Handsome didn’t even do him justice. He was stunning. She couldn’t help stealing glances of him. His sandy blonde hair had always been wavy with a life of its own.
For a boy who had grown up on a poor council estate, he had turned out pretty close to perfection. He was self-assured, looked amazing and though he had been gloating earlier on, she believed what he said—that he was successful. She looked around at the other wedding guests. Mitch fitted in with all the wealthy self-made men. He said the right words, with a neutral hard-to-place kind of accent. A perfectly tailored suit, and an armour of charisma that didn’t seem to have a chink in it. He really had turned out to be an ideal plus one. And she had to admit, he made her feel amazing. He didn’t make her feel like she was Aidan’s sister who had to be looked out for. He included her in every conversation at the table. Every time she stole a glimpse of him, his eyes twinkled and smiled back at her.
And he had been so attentive over dinner. She’d accepted a morsel of baked camembert from his own fork, and he had fed her himself. His stare didn’t waver, watching her as she leant forward to nibble on the cheese. With a grin that melted her insides, he used his thumb to wipe away the melted cheese that had dribbled on to her chin. Mitch was, without doubt, the most attentive date that she’d ever had. A dream date by anyone’s standards. Any person looking on would have thought they were the perfect totally-in-love kind of couple. The kind that she’d wished for in all of her previous relationships, that they would turn into. On their very first date together, Mitch was all that she’d ever wanted.
First date, and last, she corrected herself. Not that this was a real date. It had after all only emanated due to a lost poker game, she had not put her hat in the ring for relationships. Uh-uh. Relationships were out of the question.
Just as Helen persuaded herself that she’d just enjoy the moment, as relationships weren’t in the cards, Mitch leaned forward and stole a lick of chocolate mousse from her own spoon. She gulped. Was that the sexiest thing she’d ever seen? It was like a promise of something more to come.
The meals were cleared away, and as the speeches started, Mitch reached into her lap to grasp her hand in his. His hand seemed to burn straight through her dress. She didn’t dare look his way for fear that he’d see just how he affected her.
Just when she thought she had found her composure, Mitch’s thumb started stroking the sensitive place on her wrist. Elly’s father’s speech was lost on her as she struggled to maintain an equilibrium. Helen sucked in a steadying breath. His gestures promised something more. Something quite sensual. Was he just playing with her? Was he like this with all the girls he took out on dates? There was no reason for him to treat her special. Just before he had left for university, he hadn’t even been nice to her. Despite her laughing as he left, it had broken her heart that he hadn’t turned around or come and seen her before he left the estate. He’d been her one big crush through her teenage years. And he hadn’t even come to check that she was okay.
Helen resisted the temptation to inch her body closer to his. She focused only on resisting the physical craving that had built up over the course of the reception, paying no attention at all to the wedding speeches.
The emcee declared it was time for the bride and groom to dance the waltz. “Finally.” Mitch whispered into her ear. “I get the most beautiful woman in this room in my arms tonight.” Mitch’s voice was low, his tone too candid and heartfelt for argument.
“I’m not sure I’m the most beautiful woman here. But thank you anyway.” Helen murmured back.
For a second, his eyes blazed, thrilling her. “Believe me, you are not only the most beautiful, but the sexiest, too.” Mitch drew a shuddering breath and eased himself a little bit away from her as he smiled at her wryly. “You seem to be having quite an effect on me.”
“Maybe it’s the romance of the wedding.” She smiled, her lips coy, as she gave the minutest of shrugs.
“Do we have to stay until the end?” The question, his voice husky as he asked it, sent a spike of pure pleasure through her.
“Not to the end. But we do need to dance. Besides, I love dancing.” Her voice teased as she held his heated gaze. She could barely believe her own audacity as she spoke.
Mitch groaned faintly. “Do you enjoy this torture you’re putting me through?”
“Maybe I do.” She countered him with a shameless smile.
His gaze swept over her body as she stood up. A feeling of intense excitement swirled and twisted inside of her. No man had ever made her feel so overwhelmed. Yet here was Mitch, the man who she’d grown up with, and he’d made her feel things in an hour she hadn’t experienced with any of her other relationships. But he had to know, that whatever they did tonight, they had no future together. There would be no recriminations, and no further trysts. She was desperate for Mitch to understand that it would be a one-night stand, no more, no less.
“Mitch.” Her voice rasped. “Whatever happens tonight. That’s it. We enjoy a night together. And then we move on.” Her eyes creased with anxiety that he should understand where they stood.
He rubbed the worry lines away from her eyes. “Shhh, Helen. Let things go as they should. Don’t plan what can and can’t happen. Just let now transpire. Tell me, are you happy to continue? Because if you are, I don’t think I can wait much longer. I really want to feel you in my arms. In private.”
Helen nodded in assent. She wanted to be in his arms, too. The craving she had developed over the past few hours was uncontrollable, and it scared her a bit, too. Her body was on fire, longing to be touched by him, to be consumed by his presence.
He led her by the hand across the ballroom, past where the bride and groom were already lost in each other’s embrace. They stood with the rest of the wedding party looking on at the wedded couple’s first dance. Helen stood in front of Mitch, his arms firmly placed around her body, over her shoulders. His body leant into her back. She didn’t speak for a few seconds. She couldn’t speak.
The song ended and another one started. The spectators to the bridal waltz moved on to dance. Mitch turned her to face him, their bodies plastered against each other. He touched her cheek with light fingertips. Their bodies moved together as one. His blue eyes darkened like the ocean on a cloudy day. His gaze was hooded and intent as his hand slid down to her hips and he held her against him.
Helen tried to respond, but her words fell away as Mitch’s body moved in rhythm to her own. It was like all her breath had been sucked from her lungs. She nodded at him and placed her own hands against his chest, toying with his crisp tuxedo jacket.
The band played a popular slow romantic song. As they swayed together as one, Helen realized this song would forever be associated Mitch and this magical moment that they were experiencing together.
Mitch flicked a stray hair from her eyes. “Have we stayed long enough?” He bent down and brushed her lips with his own.
Her tongue shot out and moistened her lips as she gave him a compl
ete look of yearning. She was impatient too for whatever happened next.
In any other circumstance, Helen would have cringed at leaving the dance floor early. But there was something about Mitch’s hand splayed across her back. Stepping up on tiptoes, she reached up to meet him halfway as his mouth dipped down for another kiss.
This time she placed her hands on each side of his face, the bristliness on his cheeks where he had shaven earlier in the day tickling her fingers. Pulling him in closer, she kissed him deeply. Her responded with a groan and clumsy fervour. She tangled her hands in his hair so that his body fitted closer to her own.
“You taste nice.” Helen remarked as pulled away.
“Nice? That’s all you have to say? Fireworks are exploding around us, and you say I taste nice?” Mitch shook his head. “This is torture, having you in my arms in front of all these people.” His blue eyes brightened as they swept over her like a torch light. There was something in their depths both raw and yearning. His need was her need also. It was time they sought their own space. Her own desire was so great that the words wouldn’t form. She nodded at him.
Without wasting a moment, he grabbed her by the hand and led her out the nearest set of open French doors, down into the glittering lights of the garden.
“Where did all these people come from?” His impatience showing as he looked down at the guests who had deserted the dance floor.
“Come on. This way.” Helen tugged his hand and this time it was her leading the way down the balcony steps.
“I explored the garden yesterday. There’s a fairly private nook over here, amongst the roses, just beyond that wall.”
Hand in hand they wove around the guests, not making eye contact with any of them. The night was clear and balmy. The mix of the heady scent of roses which permeated the air with the low sounds of slow dance music from inside was magical.
Helen giggled as she lost her footing and nearly tripped over a tree root in the shadows. Mitch’s hand steadied her before guiding them so that they were just tucked in behind the garden wall, hidden from the guests outside.
He lowered his head, as his mouth stole a quick hard kiss from hers.
His hands released her hair, and it floated like golden threads around her head. He found the curve of her neck, and with his mouth he gently nibbled. Helen let out a groan.
“Mitch.”
“Tell me this is okay. Do you want me to stop?”
“Yes. No. Please don’t stop.” Her voice was ragged, her hands still in his hair.
He couldn’t get enough of her. He moved his hands from her glossy hair to her hips. Leaning ever so slightly, he yanked up her dress with one clean jerk. Like a man frantic for air to breathe, he was desperate to touch and feel her body. His fingers trailed up her thighs, over her panties, onto her bared abdomen.
“I need to feel you.” He leant forward, his hands releasing relinquishing their touch on her warm skin and tried to tug at the zipper at the back of her neck, but it wouldn’t budge. Giving up on the zip, he returned to caress her thighs, each stroke aiming higher until there was nothing more than a scrap of lace panties.
Helen clutched his shirt and with deft movements, released it from his cummerbund. Her own fingers reached inside his shirt and connected with his cool, smooth skin. Her hands massaged his body as if she wanted to feel it all at once, moving around to his back, before edging down the back of his trousers onto the top of his ass
“Is this okay?” His hand was fondling her through her panties. “Just don’t stop,” Helen commanded him, as she pulled apart his shirt, mindless of the buttons that pinged off.
His fingers pushed her panties aside and explored her depths, sending her tumbling over the edge, breathless and whimpering as her body reacted to his touch. The fireworks he’d spoken of in the ballroom went off for Helen, and her mind was blank as she hovered on a frenzied edge of ecstasy before he slipped another finger inside of her, prompting a release to rocket through her body. When at last she recovered her breath, he captured her mouth again with a soft and gentle caress.
“My trousers are in the way.”
“I know.” She laughed at his obvious statement. Her laugh was soft and breezy as she joined her hands to help him tug his trousers down. Mitch retrieved a foil packet before he kicked his trousers away, over his shoes and socks. Now his arousal was all to evident.
“Does this feel okay?” She asked as she reached her hand out and grabbed his arousal in a jerky motion.
“More than okay. Don’t get me wrong, I really like the feel of you holding me. But I want to feel you. I need to be inside of you.”
The skirt of her dress was hitched up inelegantly at her waist. Mitch pressed her back against the rough garden wall. Readjusting her ever so slightly so that her thighs were parted, and she was perfectly aligned to receive his throbbing manhood. She enjoyed watching, with hooded and expectant eyes, as he rolled the condom on. One of her hands roamed behind him before it clamped onto the smooth cheek of his ass.
Helen gasped in anticipation. When he didn’t enter her quite as fast as she needed, her other hand grabbed Mitch roughly by his wavy hair and brought him closer. Mitch’s hands cupped the fleshy softness of her bottom. Pleasure soared through them both as he drove himself into her core. Their love making was strong and frantic. She’d never expected this feeling that was so exquisite, yet so intense and satisfying. The potency of his cock as it fitted and filled her as he propelled further and further inside, until she was sure she would explode if he came in anymore. His body hard up against her own. His fingers digging hard into the cheeks of her bottom as he kept his grip, igniting sparks as he hammered himself into her. Helen squirmed, her trembling body responding as she tried to get more of him inside of her. She writhed against him, their bodies entwined, becoming one.
At first their rhythm was bumpy as they found each other’s tempo. Mitch relished every pang of bliss as his shaft was consumed by her centre. As their intensity built, they moved in a frenzy. Helen grasped his shoulders and let out a muffled cry as, for the second time in minutes, he brought her to the edge of total Ecstasy. Her fingers dug into the damp skin on his shoulders as his own movements changed. As she released again, the tremors of pleasure that ran through her body brought a growl of pleasure from him. In that moment, old feelings of adoration and love for Mitch resurfaced. As new emotions escaped, her inner muscles all contracted again and again, tightening against him, causing him to bury his face into her neck, growling his climax into her warm and wet core. They stood against each other, not moving for several minutes.
Helen was consumed by his touch and smell. As her mind cleared, she granted herself a one-night stand with the boy who she’d loved as a child. It couldn’t be more than that. She wasn’t looking for a relationship. Besides, they led different and separate lives. But a night together, she was entitled to enjoy. Based on their explosive chemistry so far, it would be a night to remember.
With the smell of roses around them, in the stillness of the garden, Mitch reflected on what had happened today. The moment he had accepted the role to escort Helen to the wedding, he had known that he would be here as more than just a guy who lost a round of poker, or who needed to help out his best friend. Helen had always been special to him, he’d just been too young, they’d just been too young, to know it. She intrigued him. It wasn’t just physical attraction. She wasn’t interested in his money. They shared a past. She was his Belle. And even though their trajectories had veered away from each other, the planets had aligned for them to reconnect. His only challenge was, could he get Helen to see it that way too?
Chapter 5
Helen stretched out on the oversized bed, and with great slowness, opened one eye and then the other. Light streamed in through the French doors that led out to the balcony. She sniffed the air. Coffee. She was eager to indulge in her devoted early morning coffee routine. During the day, she preferred cups of steaming tea, but every morning, she relied on co
ffee to get her moving. The white sheet made of the finest cotton had been draped across her frame as she slept. Mitch. Was he still here, or like many other one-night flings, had he crept away before she woke? She sighed, a bit disappointed by his absence, then shook it off.
The plan yesterday had been to enjoy the moment with Mitch. Enjoy the weekend and then move on. She wasn’t after a relationship and he probably wasn’t either. He’d walked away from her as a teenager, why would he not do so again?
As she sat up, the sheet fell away, and revealed her naked body. There was no one else in the room, and Helen quite liked looking down at her torso. Over the years she’d had it adorned with tattoos of small pretty things like flowers and butterflies. However, it was the larger tattoo across her abdomen that was her most favourite of all. A pretty pink rose with its prickly thorns, jagged leaves and smooth rosebuds yet unopened swirled across her flat tummy in a 3D effect. When she was still living on the estate, she’d drawn the outline herself and had it tattooed locally, but she’d known then that they wouldn’t be able to do the effect that she had wanted. So, she’d waited until she found someone who could tattoo exactly what she had pictured in her mind. The other tattoos she’d received since the rose were scattered across her back and sides. She was aware that not everyone was into with tattoos like she was, so she’d been careful to not get any done that could be seen when she wore clothes for work, or even dresses like the one she’d worn to the wedding yesterday. It didn’t matter—the tattoos she had were for her benefit only.
“Good morning, sleepyhead.” Mitch’s low, honeyed voice greeted her from the balcony. “I didn’t realise you’d woken already. Can I offer you some coffee? It’s actually really good coffee, not the instant stuff you often get in hotels.”