by Carrie Hogle
“Everyone that sees you will imagine unwrapping you.”
“That’s the idea,” she replied wickedly over her shoulder.
“This is a dangerous game Reina.”
“You are taking me on a date, aren’t you,” she asked, batting her eyelashes with mock innocence.
“Yes...I’m taking you,” he replied with promise.
James followed the sway of her hips as she smiled and walked away. She was obviously looking for trouble; he would be certain to deliver on every expectation and more.
Chapter 19
Reina’s first experience of California was a bustling hub of traffic, people, and architecture dotted with palm trees and sunshine. Although the glass of champagne on the plane had helped calm her nerves, stepping out of the car and placing her hand into James’ was intimidating. One side of the red carpet was packed with reporters, photographers, and security. Even though they were held back by fancy barricades, Reina already felt like she was suffocating, like they were crushing her. Mark and Charles shadowed them, bringing a small sense of comfort, but James’ hand on the skin of her back was her safety net. His heat was her anchor in the rolling turbulence of human energy overload.
They walked slowly stopping every few feet for photos, flashes continuous as photographers called their names for them to look this way or that. The fact that any of them knew her name was disconcerting. She realized it was inevitable, but Reina had no desire to be seen or known by large groups of people. Sensing she was uneasy James tucked her into his side each time they stopped. Even though her instinct was to escape the attention she kept her head high, smiled, and held her own. As they neared the end, where specific reporters expected to ask a few questions, Reina began reaching her limit and could feel panic trying to take hold. James was just as attuned to her as she was him; feeling her growing anxiety he stepped in close to her and placed a hand on the front of her waist.
She laid her hand on his arm as he whispered in her ear, “breathe.” It wasn’t what he said but the sound of his voice, the nearness of his scent, and the warmth of his embrace that soothed her. She closed her eyes for an instant, breathing him in. When she opened her eyes he was smiling down at her, almost close enough to kiss. She smiled back, once again grounded, and completely unaware that the photographers were eating it up. They reached the reporters and James stopped to answer questions. Reina stepped slightly behind his shoulder, hoping to avoid notice.
Most of the questions were generic and movie related, but as they walked away one reporter piped up, “There have been rumors about some sort of scandal and a break-up. Would you care to comment?”
Reina felt James tense but he smiled, “Obviously you can’t believe everything you hear.”
His hand returned to her back as he led her away, Mark and Charles stepping between them and the reporters. James had made his response seem casual enough but he was clenching his jaw. Inside, the theater lobby was also crowded but people congregated into flowing groups, making it easier to find small pockets of space. Having a small window of reprieve Reina soothed her hand down the side of his neck. He placed his hands on either side of her face and pressed his forehead to hers. For a moment they were in their own world, balancing each other. Anyone that may have noticed their interaction was completely irrelevant.
It was a surreal experience to be surrounded by celebrities, behind the scene heroes, and high profile money. The strangest by far was watching James on screen while sitting next to him and the knowledge of who he was behind the persona. History and memories stretched between them, weaving an impenetrable web of love and solidarity. In the dark he rested his hand on her leg, his thumb brushing over the material sending a tingling awareness straight to her core. His hand traveled upwards, brushing between her thighs, and she felt his burning gaze on her as he realized she was bare beneath her dress. He pulled his hand back with a nod as she looked at him, bit her lip, and smiled.
After the screening they made an appearance at an after party, a bubbling adventure of gift bags, laughter, overlapping conversations, dancing lights, music, swaying bodies, hors d'oeuvres, and drinks. They had short conversations with familiar cast and crew, while also saying polite, “hellos” to various celebrities and people of import. Reina didn’t go overboard but a couple of glasses of champagne were enough to leave her feeling giddy, flirty, and a bit fuzzy around the edges. James seemed intent on keeping his hand on her back and in return she teased him mercilessly. She continuously found an excuse to turn into his body, or step away from his hand, baring her back to the room. She also used every opportunity to tantalize him with her touch. Her lips grazed his neck before she’d step away; she’d slide her hand down his back while smiling mischievously. She reveled in the sensual promises that filled his possessive eyes, and licked her lips with devilish glee.
James left her with Mark and Charles, saying he had something to take care of. Reina started her third glass of champagne. Although she was being shadowed by her body guards; they didn’t keep anyone from talking to her. So, when an actor approached her she smiled, let him introduce himself, and laughed at whatever he was saying, the champagne beginning to go to her head. His demeanor changed abruptly, and he walked away with a nod, as James stepped up beside her.
“You’re a magnet for trouble.”
Reina shrugged as she looked at him over her shoulder with an impish grin. She touched his chest, noticing that his tie was missing and his vest was unbuttoned.
“We have a suite waiting for us,” he answered her questioning look. His hands clenched as she lightly brushed her lips across his.
“Shall we,” she replied with a quick flick of her tongue.
The suite was lavish with huge windows, plush carpet, and a generous sitting area but Reina barely noticed because she was already trying to get James out of his clothes, pulling him towards the bed. He watched her with predatory amusement as she pushed his jacket and vest off his shoulders. He shook his head at her with a soft laugh as her champagne fingers tried to unbutton his shirt, frantic to reach skin. Impatient, she only unbuttoned halfway before she took advantage of the skin bared to her. She ran her hands up his chest, across his neck, and around his shoulders.
“Help me,” she asked, pressing her lips to his hungrily.
James pulled the open sides of his shirt; the remaining buttons fell to the floor. He yanked his shirt off and splayed his hands across her back. He returned her kiss ravenously, grasping his lifeline and greedily taking everything she offered. His blood rushed with desperate passion when she looked at him ferociously and “I want you,” dripped from her lips. She said it pleadingly, as if he could ever deny her. He would stop his own heart if she but asked. His inner beast rose to meet her desires, answering her unconscious call like a summons.
“Turn around,” he commanded.
Reina complied without question and he knew he wanted to spend his life earning every trust that she gave so willingly. She shifted her hair over her shoulder and he instinctively trailed his fingers down her spine. His heart thundered in his head as he reached the laces. He’d made himself crazy with the thought of how many men had fantasized about pulling the ribbon and opening what was his. She glanced at him, eyes fevered and expectant. Her obvious need took him over the edge to primal mode.
Reina watched James’ control slip with anticipatory satisfaction. She closed her eyes and listened to his breathing as she felt him untie the laces of her dress. He slowly and expertly loosened each row until the straps fell from her shoulders. Her dress slipped down her body, his hands following the descent down her back, across her ass and around the front of her thighs. She breathed a moaning sigh as he held her hips and kissed his way back up her spine, his stubble causing the most delicious prickle over her skin. He reached for the fur lined cuffs he’d left waiting on the bed and held them behind her back as he spoke.
“Do you want me Reina?”
She looked at him over her shoulder seductively.
“I crave you.”
For a moment time seemed to stop; a magnetic current flared between them. He looked at her as though he were savagely and thoroughly bewitched.
“Yes James, I want you.”
She looked away, partially breaking her hypnotizing hold on him, and held her hands behind her back. Her desire heightened as the cuffs fastened around her wrists.
James’s hand trailed up her neck and into her hair, pulling her head back.
“I plan to make you come until you scream and spank you until you beg me to fuck you senseless. Is that what you want Reina?”
His words made her instantly wet, his tone causing her heart to beat out of control.
“Yes…” she breathed.
As much as she loved their tender moments, she needed this from him. She needed for him to claim control, take her beyond herself, and force the emotions from the hidden places in her heart. He quieted her ever busy mind and calmed her secretly chaotic soul. He always seemed to know exactly what she needed, how far to take it, and how hard to push her. After everything they’d been through, tonight she needed him to assert complete dominance, to make her feel secure and grounded.
He didn’t disappoint. His hand wrapped around the front of her throat, his voice in her ear as his other hand slipped into the wetness between her thighs.
“This is mine,” he murmured as his finger caressed and pinched her folds, and teased her clit. Already close to orgasm, his name left her lips on a sigh.
“Your pleasure is mine.”
His hand applied pressure to her throat as her breathing quickened. James delivered a few quick slaps against her throbbing pussy. She gave a series of moans as shocks of pleasure raced through her body.
“Your moans are mine.”
His voice against her ear was all it took for orgasm to rush over her. Her knees braced on the edge of the bed, his hand around her throat, and his body pressed against her, the only things that kept her up.
“Your orgasms are mine.”
Instead of easing he increased the pressure until she instinctively tugged on the cuffs whimpering. Sensitive and swollen, the pleasure was almost too intense, bordering on pain. His hand closed across her mouth.
“Now you’re going to come for me again.”
He played her like a finely tuned instrument, smacking, swirling, fingers dipping inside, and repeat. Reina cried out behind the strong hold of his hand, her body shaking uncontrollably. The pleasure was red hot, half of her fought the overloading sensitivity, and the other half thought she would die if he stopped. He held her tightly as the next orgasm ripped through her, blinding. He whispered to her soothingly, his chest rising and falling against her back as she screamed behind his hand. When she was reduced to whimpers and pants his fingers gentled but didn’t cease. Aftershocks caused her to tremble as he uncovered her mouth and bit her shoulder.
“Do you want more?”
He wrapped his hand in her hair and pulled as he pressed against her aching clit. With his breath against her skin, her brain couldn’t process what he was saying to her while he continued to tease her.
“Do you want more from me Reina,” he practically growled.
“Yes…” she knew she must have verbally formed the word when he commanded she kneel.
She did as she was told. Unable to hold herself upright any longer, she was grateful to lay her chest against the bed. She listened to the sound of him removing his pants and tried to remember how to breathe. He knelt behind her. She was already close to begging, desperate to have him inside her, completing her. Instead, he stroked her ass. When she whimpered and squirmed, he responded with four smacks, which left her panting as heat suffused her butt and sent lust up her spine. He soothed his hand between her legs, rubbing her tender wetness until she writhed under his touch, and then his hand landed on her ass again in hard relentless smacks. James repeated the cycle of rubbing her clit and smacking her ass until she was mindless, consumed with sensation. Reina’s ass was aflame, her body scorching with hunger. She begged him senselessly, unaware of what she was even begging for, only that she needed him to give it to her.
“Please James...please...please…” she mewled.
His hand smoothed up her back and into hair as his body crowded over hers.
“What do you want from me, Reina?”
“James, please…” she cried.
“Please what,” he demanded, his other hand grabbing her hip.
“Please fuck me...please…”
Finally, he gave her what she craved, his body inside of hers hard and fast. She was lost to him. Claimed. Owned. In that moment her soul whispered that it no longer belonged to her, that it would always be his.
As James found his pleasure in Reina, both of their bodies shook. He rested his head against her back and uttered her name like a prayer. He would give her anything she wanted, be whatever she needed, but he could never let her go. Her love saved him, and without her he was empty.
Chapter 20
As Reina tried to scoot out of bed James tightened his arm around her. She laughed softly and he let her go at the mention of a shower. He didn’t join her, but stood looking out the windows when she emerged. She could feel him watching her but pretended not to notice as she slipped on one of his t-shirts. She sat on the edge of the bed and smiled to herself, memories flashing through her mind at the residual tenderness of her butt. James came to kneel between her knees and she immediately wrapped her legs around him, but the way he was looking at her set her heart aflutter with a hint of panic.
“I want your forever to be mine, Reina.”
She knew what he was going to say next and it sent her heart into full-fledged fight or flight mode. No matter how much of her soul was his, for some reason the idea of the word marriage coming out of his mouth made her afraid. Like him offering any type of permanent forever might curse them. The battle between fear and love caused tears of confusion to gather in her eyes. She could feel herself gently shaking her head, her breathing becoming erratic. Somehow he just looked at her with tenderness and understanding.
“Please,” she whispered without even knowing why she was saying it.
He caressed her face, murmured her name, and wrapped his arms around her. He nestled his warm face into her neck, his hand smoothing down her back. Automatically she took a deep breath and absorbed his scent into her senses.
“I won’t leave you Reina…”
“James…” she whispered as the tears escaped her eyes and slipped down her cheeks.
“I need you,” he admitted urgently.
He knew all her pressure points. His vulnerable admission hit her harder than words of love would have. Her brain was trying to process but ultimately she knew there was no place to run from what was between them. No hiding from the truth. He soothed the chaos of her thoughts while stoking the fire of her spirit. He was the storm that scattered her senses and her anchor in a world of turbulence. He was home and her instinct would always be to return to his gravity. No matter how irrational her mind tried to tell her it was, she knew there was only one logical choice left open to her.
As if sensing her inner resolution he pulled back to look at her, his hand on the back of her neck and his heart in his eyes.
“Say that you're mine Reina...marry me.”
She was an expert at denying things to herself, but denying the look in his eyes would be a lie.
“No more secrets,” she answered softly.
“No more secrets,” he nodded.
“James, I mean it...partners. It’s all or nothing.”
“I understand Reina,” he tried to reassure her.
“Promise me. Promise not to keep things from me. Promise that whatever comes we’re in it together…”
She watched a shadow pass over his gaze. Given their history, promising something so far out of his control was not something he wanted to do. Reina started to pull away but his grip tightened on her neck. Her fingers wrapped arou
nd his arm as she watched him calculate how far he could push it.
“My instinct will always be to protect you Reina.”
“It’s all or nothing James. I love you...but I can’t…” she replied, shaking her head. She grazed her other hand down his neck, worried tears still in her eyes.
He took a deep breath, “We’re in it together Reina, I promise.”
He released her neck and trailed his hand down her jaw, his thumb rubbing across her lips.
“Say yes,” he coaxed.
The familiar gesture and his promise echoing in her head helped lift the weight off her chest. He smiled at her and she smiled back knowing she was lost to him.
“Us…” she said quietly.
“Yes…”
Reina took a deep breath, nodded her head, and took the leap.
“Yes. Yes I will marry you…”
James visibly relaxed, love filling his eyes, and Reina couldn’t stop the love filling her heart. He held out a small black velvet box and she could feel him gauging her reaction as she opened it. The ring was unique and stunning, like everything else in their lives, he’d obviously put thought into it. A round diamond was surrounded by a thin circle of small diamonds and rubies and was flanked by a ruby on each side. Below each ruby were thin open circles of diamonds and rubies. The design and color reminded Reina of everything that has passed between them and everything he was offering.
“I love it,” she said softly.
When she met his eyes his smile was like the sun, chasing away all her shadows.
As James slipped the ring on her finger, he felt like he’d captured the moon. Reina filled the darkness with stars, controlled his raging tides, and always led him home. He would give her the world to keep her at the center of his universe. Her hands soothed over his neck like rain and his heart answered her call with thunder. As he captured her lips in his claiming kiss, she wrapped her body around his. She accepted him without question, gave herself completely, and hungrily took everything she wanted.