Another message beeped through and I shuddered.
I want to see you again. I'm sorry for what I've done. We can start over... I love you. xxx
I felt sick to my stomach. Richard was in my past and he certainly wasn't someone I would ever go back to... The last man on earth idea popped into my head and I laughed. Not even if he was the last man on earth.
Drop dead.
Was the message I tapped into my phone. I watched with a growing sense of satisfaction as the phone beeped to tell me the message was sent. Without a backwards thought I dropped it into my handbag and moved out into the main area.
David stood by the door. The look he shot me was one of undeniable happiness and love. It confused me. How could he look at me that way and speak on the phone to Lucia the way he had. The look in his eyes couldn't be denied. He couldn't lie with a look. I knew him well enough to know that. Every business deal he took part in required him to be one hundred percent honest because lying was not his strong point. Each time he did it I saw straight through him.
We had been through so much together... If he wanted rid of me he wouldn't take me to a beautiful Chalet just before Christmas to do it... Clearly I had jumped to conclusions.
David moved towards me as the driver picked up the bags at the door and carried them to the lift.
"Are you ready my sweet?" His words dripped with honey and the intense look was back in his eyes.
I melted against him the instant he touched me, a small happy sigh escaping my lips as he pressed his fingers under my chin and tipped my face up to his. Looking into his eyes was like looking into his soul. David was normally unreadable, a blank slate but I had learned to look past that facade. He was vulnerable and human. He had flaws like me but his were far better hidden. But through all of that he loved passionately. He practically vibrated with it.
"Yes, I'm ready." And I was. My words held a far deeper meaning. One that I knew only David would understand.
His lips curved upwards, a slow sensual smile that promised dark and passionate pleasures. Pleasures that only he could give me. Pleasures that I would happily accept.
His lips pressed to mine, a kiss that sparked within me. Igniting my body with a deep craving. One that only he could sate. David drew back, leaving me breathless and my body limp. I clung to the front of his shirt, my hands wrapped into the fabric. I didn't want the embrace to end.
David chuckled softly. That laugh that is reserved for true men. Men who know how to push the buttons of the women they are with. Knowing how to reduce them to a blubbering heap of nerve endings only capable of wanting more of their touch.
David wrapped his arm around my shoulders and moved me to the door. "We will have plenty of time to play later." The twinkle in his eye promised me the world. It brought a smile to my lips and my stomach flipped in anticipation. I didn't hear my phone buzz in my bag. And even if I had, I wasn't sure I would have checked it anyway. But if I had, what was there would have frozen the blood in my veins and left a bitter taste in my mouth.
***
The flight was calm and unremarkable. David spent his time on the phone sorting last minute business deals that had taken a turn for the worst. It was always the way. Business was unpredictable and even when you thought it was sorted and on the home stretch something usually came to mess it up again.
In this case it was the last minute panic of the buyer. He had stalled everything out of sheer fear. Part of me couldn't blame him. When dealing with such huge sums of money one couldn't help but get cold feet. Or at least I knew I would if I was dealing with the level of investments. But David never did. He was always calm and seemingly unflappable. But in the line of his jaw and the set of his shoulders I could tell he was frustrated.
Frustration in David always manifested itself physically. His voice however, never once betrayed his emotions. It remained calm and even. Quietly talking the investor down from his ledge of panic, until finally David was laughing and thanking him for his business.
When he finally hung up the phone he looked exhausted. I watched as he paused for a minute and blew out a deep breath. One he had no doubt been holding in for the entire conversation.
Standing I picked up the bottle of champagne from the bucket beside me on the table and two glasses. David's eyes travelled up and down the length of my body as he watched me approach. I could see him relax, the tension melting from his shoulders and jaw as he watched me bend over and put the glass on the table in front of him. I poured the golden liquid, careful to not let the bubbles spill over the top.
When both glasses were full I smiled at him and lifted my glass into the air in a gesture of celebration. David followed suit. Not a word spilling past his lips as he continued to watch me. He swallowed the champagne in one gulp before replacing the glass on the table. I reached out to grab the bottle and refill for him but he was much faster than I was.
His hands snaking out and wrapping around my waist. He tugged me into his lap, forcing me to sit across him. The skirt I wore was restrictive and wouldn't allow any other position.
David's hands trailed slowly up my spine until they reached my neck. His fingers slowly massaging into my hair line making me shiver with desire.
"What did I do to deserve you?" He whispered as his other hand slipped beneath the restrictive material of my skirt.
I smiled, "I really have no idea..." I slapped him playfully on the arm as he pushed his hand further underneath my skirt and slowly tickled the soft skin on the inside of my thigh.
A blush crept up over my cheeks. But all it seemed to do was excite David even more. His fingers traced circles making my breath catch in my throat as he shot me a look that told me he was tempted to take me across the seats.
He was capable of making me feel things that I had never thought possible. I put my hand on his arm and squeezed. The look in my eyes must have betrayed the fear I was feeling because he stopped. His hand simply lying against my skin.
"Why do you still insist on fighting me at every turn?" He asked. His voice completely serious. All traces of his earlier playfulness was gone, replaced by a thirst for understanding.
I sighed and moved to climb off his lap, but David's strong hands pinned me down, holding me in place.
"Carrie, talk to me. After everything? You still fight me? I just don't understand it."
"I just don't want to do that here..." I gestured to the cabin of the private jet. Although it was quiet and the air hostess was in the back room it still didn't feel private enough. I enjoyed the safety of our bedroom... Even the kitchen and the living room was secluded and we didn't run the risk of someone barging in.
David stared at me hard. His dark eyes boring into mine in an attempt to see into my depths. He blinked once and seemed satisfied. His grip lightening until he was holding me gently on his lap.
"Fine... As you wish."
I could tell from the stiffness in his body that he wasn't particularly pleased. David wasn't the type of man that anyone turned down. Particularly not women. In fact most women seemed to do the exact opposite. Throwing themselves at him in the hopes that he would glance their way. I had watched it happen to many times before in the short number of months we had been together.
David never even entertained them, usually behaving cold and disinterested and once I had seen him be downright rude. That particular woman had left in tears and part of me had felt sorry for her. David was incredibly handsome and the type of man that every woman wanted. When they looked at the two of us together I could practically hear the thoughts in their minds wondering why the hell I was with someone like him and how had I managed it.
I pushed my fingers under his chin and turned his face until he was looking me directly in the eyes. Swallowing hard I gazed at him for a few minutes before finally speaking.
"I do want you... And I want you now but not here... Not like this when just anyone could walk in and see... What we share is special to me and I want to keep it that way."
&
nbsp; David's shoulders slowly relaxed and he gripped my hand tightly in his. "I don't push you on anything. And I wouldn't dream of doing something that you found uncomfortable... Well unless I thought you would enjoy it... But you do things to me... Make me feel things I've never felt before and when I'm around you. Well I can't really help myself. I want to ravage you and claim you as mine. I don't care who catches us because to me it's all about owning you, body and soul..." He grinned at me and I returned his look with a small curve of my lips.
"If you were any other man, a stranger, and you made that speech... I'd have the cops after you for stalking."
David grinned, it made him look younger than he was, more boyish. "Then I guess I'll just have to make sure you stay mine. It can't be stalking if you agree to it."
I started to laugh and the plane lurched, flipping my stomach. I gripped onto David, my hands digging into him as the plane continued to lurch up and down.
"Folks, we've hit a little turbulence on the descent. Please take your seats and fasten your seat belts." The captain's voice droned over the loud speaker telling me what I already knew.
David's hands tightened on me as he slid me over into a free seat beside him. They lingered on me longer than was needed as he fastened the belt across my waist, his fingers brushing up under the bottom of my blouse. The touch of his skin on mine was electric and I shut my eyes. The plane continued to jerk but I didn't take any more notice of it. All I was interested in was the movement of David's fingers across my stomach and up to the edge of my lace bra.
When he withdrew his touch I let out a disappointed sigh. David chuckled beside me as he fastened his own belt and sat back against the seat. His dark eyes watching me.
"One minute you don't want me touching you and the next your disappointed when I stop. You give me a lot of mixed messages."
"And normally you're better at reading them." I shot back.
David pretended to look wounded but I could see the ghost of a smile hovering around his lips. I turned and watched out the window as the plane slowly and carefully descended. As we came down as I wasn't sure when we had properly left the cloud cover. Everything below and above seemed white and it wasn't until I started to make out the few houses dotted across the countryside that I realised everything below us was snow.
It made perfect sense, but I had never in my life seen so much of it in one place. The landscape was picture perfect and I could imagine photographers coming out here specifically to shoot Christmas cards.
"Do you like it?" David asked, his warm breath tickling against my ear.
"It's breathtaking..."
David didn't answer. He didn't need to. Everything around us spoke volumes. It was perfect.
***
The moment the plane touched down I practically cried with relief. Although the scenery had been beautiful to look at. The turbulence was not. I wasn't even sure why there had been turbulence. Looking up at the white fluffy clouds over head they didn't seem to look like they would cause that much of a problem.
As we made our way to the waiting car I sucked in a deep breath. The cold crisp air bringing a tear to my eye as I felt it race down my throat. I imagined the air forming little ice crystals down in my throat but it was worth it.
Anytime we had snow back home it was always short lived. The air was never this fresh and clean and no sooner had the snow hit the ground, it was turning to brown mushy sludge. There was nothing attractive about that.
As I stepped closer to the car my foot slid across an unseen patch of ice. My balance disappearing as I careened towards the open door. David's strong arms wrapped around my waist holding me upright and preventing my fall from going any further.
"You can tell that you don't have that much interaction with real snow and ice." He said, smiling, the corners of his eyes crinkling.
He helped me into the car and slipped in beside me. His hand automatically going to my knee in a possessive gesture and one that I was happy to have.
I was glued to the car window as the large four by four car ploughed through the ice and snow on the road. It threw up soft white snow on each side, pushing it up into thick piles that lined the narrow roads.
We wound up through the hillside, the car constantly climbing. I shivered a little as we passed a particularly steep drop on the side of one hill. The snow disappeared over the edge falling like powder into the whiteness below.
"Are you cold?" David asked, his hand stroking down the length of my back.
"No, I'm fine... It's just... Everything is so clear and stark and white... I can almost feel the cold through the window."
"Do you like it?"
"Like it?" I stared out the window some more. All the while taking in every inch of the landscape that I could. "I love it... I could happily get lost here and never want to go home."
David laughed and pulled me back from the window, his lips caressing mine softly. "I would never let you get lost. No matter where you go, I will always find you and bring you home, to me." He kissed me again and I let him. His tongue parting my lips and stealing my breath as he tasted me. My hands wound their way around his neck, curling into his hair and tugging him closer to me.
His heat scorched me, burning through the layers of clothes I wore. I could practically imagine what it would feel like to have him press his naked body against me right here in the back of the car. Perhaps it was the air or the constant teasing we had engaged in ever since we had left the house. But I felt much bolder than usual. I drew back and pressed my lips to the steady beat of his pulse that thrummed in his neck. My teeth closing down over it as I nipped him gently.
David growled. A low rumbling deep in his chest that reverberated up through my body, leaving me gasping and breathless. He had the power to turn me into a quivering mess and he was determined to show me who was boss.
His fingers slid beneath the coat I wore, until they were pressed against my breasts. Even though there was still a blouse and a bra between his hands and my naked skin, every touch he laid on me was heightened.
I moaned against him as he squeezed my breast, slowly pinching my nipple between his thumb and forefinger, drawing little gasping breaths from me.
"I thought you didn't like doing this in front of an audience?"
David's voice rumbled against my ear, making my eyes slide shut. I answered him by pressing my body tighter against his, practically pushing my breast into his hands. He laughed, a low throated rumble before devouring my mouth with his. Our kiss pushing us to the edge of decency. David's hands strayed across my body, slipping beneath my blouse and leaving a trail of scorched skin in its wake.
The car crunched to a halt, preventing us from going any further. I blushed furiously as David drew away from me. His gaze hard and intense and filled with desire. Swallowing hard I straightened my clothes and glanced out the windows.
The view of the landscape was still there. But directly in front of the house sat the widest lake I had ever seen. The only thing that told me that it was a lake was the sign written in both French and English warning people to be careful on the ice, of lake Glacon. Several people were already out on the ice, they moved quickly and gracefully, it looked like several of them were simply chasing each other about.
David stepped out of the car and I followed him. The moment I left the warmth of the backseat the cold air hit me instantly. My breath formed little white puffs in front of my face and I scrambled in my pockets searching for gloves. The place was beautiful but as far as I was concerned in that instance it looked much better from the warmth of a car.
It must have been written all over my face because when David turned to look at me he immediately burst into laughter.
"Not a fan of the cold?" He teased as he wrapped his arm around me and towed me towards the large house.
It looked far more like an over sized hotel than an actual house. Part of me couldn't help but wonder just how much a place like this cost to rent for the weekend. I shook my head and opened my
mouth to answer him. But I caught sight of a small petite blonde bounding down the steps towards us.
"You made it!" She launched herself into David's arms. He was forced to release his hold on me or they would have both tumbled backwards down the steps. She wrapped herself around him, her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck.
I watched them, a little stunned for a few seconds as she gushed on and on about how thrilled she was to see him.
David caught sight of my expression and slowly began to extricate himself from her grip.
"Lucia, this is, Carrie, the woman I was telling you about."
She turned her thousand watt smile on me, it faltered a little around the edges as she took me in. I could imagine what she was thinking. It was what every other woman thought when they saw me with David. What is she doing with him!
I plastered a smile on myself and reached my hand out to her. But Lucia decided on something else. She wrapped her arms around me and dragged me forwards into a hug. It took me completely by surprise almost making me lose my footing on the step. David's hand on the small of my back steadied us both.
"I'm so glad to meet you, I've heard so much about you!" She released me just as suddenly as she had grabbed me and inserted her body between David and me. She linked him and started to drag him up the steps towards the house.
"Just wait until you see what they've done with..." Her voice droned on as they disappeared over the top step. Letting out a cold sigh I followed. This was the woman David had been talking with on the phone. She was even prettier than I could have imagined. Blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail, with large expressive blue eyes. Her make-up was very understated and I could practically smell the money on her. The entire situation reminded me of one of my favourite regency romance novels. Lucia was old money. And I was a nobody. The fact that she was stunning didn't help my confidence. Swallowing back my fears I climbed up the last few steps and made my way into the house.
At the Billionaire's Pleasure Christmas Stocking Page 3