SMITTEN (Paris Après Minuit)

by Juliet Braddock

  Etienne enjoyed his payback for the embarrassment she’d caused him earlier. He noticed the slight twinges as she fought herself from the burgeoning pleasure that trickled throughout her body. He could almost feel that icy water against her skin as she hugged herself to maintain some warmth.

  As she grabbed the edge of the tub with an agonized groan, she kicked her feet in the water. Wallowing in her fear of accidental disobedience, she struggled to sit up. While her heart pounded against her chest, she worried that she might slip. Much to her own chagrin, she called out, crying for Etienne, and within seconds, he was at her side.

  He hadn’t left her alone after all.

  His arms enveloped her in comfort, and his voice pacified her distraught soul. “You can come, chérie. Shhh…it’s okay…”

  “Ohhh…!” Relying on her hands, she scrambled to hold him as he pulled her closer. This orgasm brimmed with an intensity that sizzled throughout her body. Fire now melted the ice in the water, and she burned with the pleasure he permitted her to embrace. They were both wet and covered in chocolate now, but neither seemed to care.

  “I thought you left me…”

  “There’s your lesson for tonight, Janny.” His fingers removed the blindfold. “I won’t leave you. I promise.”

  Breaking up. Making up. She’d been through it all with him that week. Now, she just needed to surrender.

  After helping her to sit on the tub’s ledge, he turned on the shower and adjusted its warmth to wash away her chill. He undressed and stepped in with her, but only to scrub away the mess they’d made with his soapy hands. He was certainly hard, but he didn’t make a move to make love to her. His touches and slippery caresses, however, saturated January with a calming pleasure that swept over her body. As his fingers eased inside her slick center, she clung to him again, sliding along his chest with every move.

  “Keep it going…” he encouraged her. “Let’s see how long you can carry on…”

  It was always this moment after punishment that brought January her greatest sexual bliss—those long seconds of sweet serenity when he made her believe that everything was fine. Aftercare healed all wounds, even those that didn’t leave a mark on her skin.

  Etienne made sure to dry her and to dress her in a robe before he bothered with himself. Meanwhile, January strolled out to find the fireplace with three plump logs burning and a display of her favorite Merlot, fruit and cheese. That’s what he’d been working on while he left her in the bathroom.

  Folding her legs beneath her, she sat down on the couch with her glass of wine. Etienne slipped behind her, toweling off his thick dark hair. “You look cute in that robe,” she said, gazing shyly into his eyes.

  “You wear it better, Janny.” He poured himself a glass of wine and joined her. His hand rested on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “Tonight, was fun—but are you alright from my frigid torture?”

  With a smile, she took his hand. “I’m a tough little submissive,” she reminded him. “We’ve done far more dangerous things.”

  “We have,” he agreed, while his mind flashed with memories. “I’m sorry I frightened you with our visitors. I didn’t think you’d have that reaction. I just thought you’d assume it was some sort of surprise.”

  Etienne possessed the ability to read her unspoken thoughts—at least in matters of sexual interest. Again, the situation involved him directly. Self-absorption could have been his middle name. January, though, was just too exhausted to fight him.

  He moved closer. “You had some fun in that bath tonight.”

  “I was freezing!”

  “You were too turned on to really even notice.”

  “No, I was cold,” she insisted. “Let me put an ice pack on your dick one of these days, and you’ll understand. I’m still chilly now. It’s like that ice went straight through my bloodstream.”

  “Well, I apologize again,” he said and snuggled her into his arms. “You should have used your safeword. Janny, you know better than anyone how important that is.”

  “Oh, it wasn’t enough to safeword. I just…I’m feeling cold.” In body, mind and soul.

  “Getting warmer?” He looked down at her, and his thumb caressed her lips. Even without makeup, she beheld such a natural beauty.

  “A little…”

  “How about now?”

  Before she had the chance to answer, he kissed her open lips, exploring her mouth with his tongue as his fingers combed through her wet hair. He took in her breath as his own, while his mouth continued on its journey to incite her arousal all over again. He loved to play, but he loved the tease most of all.

  Etienne had the power over her libido to take her from zero to seventy without even turning the ignition. His lips set January into overdrive. He’d mapped out the spots on the roof of her mouth from which she derived pleasure. He knew just how to wedge the tip of his tongue in the corner of her mouth to send shivers down her spine.

  Now that her punishment was over, she was free to make any moves she wanted, and January crawled into his lap, straddling him. The fire continued to burn, and with those flames, they set their own sparks into motion.

  Beneath their robes, they wore nothing, and January needed no provocation to sit astride his stiff cock. Her quickness surprised Etienne, but he’d waited patiently. If she wanted to ride him hard, he had no objections.

  However, he mistook her urgency for arousal. In truth, January just wanted to get it over with. He’d spun her into a frenzy, and now she wanted what was rightfully hers.

  As she worked her hips, taking him in long quick thrusts, the tingles at her shoulders shimmied down her back. She fit him so perfectly, and he eased into her like a hand slipping into a silk glove. Exuberating as it was liberating, being on top left her tantalized.

  In the heat of all-encompassing lust, she let herself go, riding him so wildly that he feared she might fall off the couch. Her glossy black hair cascaded over her shoulders, tickling her neck as she seeped into the depths of orgasm. She wanted to feel him coming so deep inside her that her womb trembled.

  And with his climax, she cried out and clung to him, as if this were the last time she’d ever make love with anyone. Her hips never slackened in their grind, even as Etienne slowed to a stop.

  Her expression, however, confused him. While she certainly indulged in her pleasure, January seemed remote, and Etienne couldn’t place his finger on the pulse of her detachment.

  “Oh, Janny…” he gasped as she finally sat still on his lap. “Some nights, I feel like an old man here.”

  Rather than diving into memories of what used to be, she tapped her finger to his nose before she promptly stood up and re-belted the robe.

  “What are you doing?” He still held on to her hand. “Where are you going?”

  “The bathroom to clean up. I’ll be back.”

  However, when she returned nearly a half-hour later, Etienne opened his tired eyes to find her fully clothed in her red dress from earlier, as she reapplied her lipstick.

  Shaking his head to wake himself up, he thought he might be dreaming. “Janny, why are you dressed? It’s not morning yet, is it?”

  “Just about two o’clock,” she said with a wink. “That’s morning.”

  “You’re…you’re about to leave,” he said as she collected her purse and kicked her feet into her shoes. “Janny, what’s going on?”

  “Well, I prefer sleeping in my own bed.” January knew he didn’t buy her answer. “I didn’t anticipate coming back here—or spending the night.”

  That subtle dig struck him in the heart, but she refused to give him the time to explain. He thought that having her pack up his things would mean something—like he was giving up the hotel for her apartment, and that they did this together. She was already puckered up when he met her at the main door to the suite.

  “You’re really leaving? Janny, it’s too late. Let me get my things. I’ll drive us over. You can’t go alone in the—”

  “O
h, the concierge will set me up with the courtesy car,” she dismissed him. “It’s all good. I’ve got my street smarts.”

  She kissed him on the lips, and before she turned and walked out, she said, “I’ll see you in a few hours?”

  All Etienne could manage to utter was a weak and bewildered, “Of course…”

  As the door closed behind her, Etienne still couldn’t process what made her leave so suddenly. Had he not awakened, he wondered if she would have just decided to leave him a note.

  Angrily, he returned to the couch to text her and insisted that she call him when she made it inside her apartment. Then he reached for the bottle of wine and poured a full glass as the dying embers faded in the fireplace.

  “Dammit, January, I love you.”

  Chapter Seven

  “Nothing is wrong. Nothing really happened, per se,” January said as she brought a tray of coffee to Xavier. He lounged on her bed, dressed in a pair of wide-leg, denim crop pants, a bright orange shirt, and an orange silk polka dotted scarf tied in his hair. She couldn’t resist a tug at the bow. “Ah, summer in Paris…”

  “It is that per se, I do not like, Janvier,” he said and daintily sipped his coffee with his pinky finger extended. “And why did he not follow you?”

  “Well, I kinda just woke him up,” she explained. “And he was naked under that bathrobe.”

  “Ah, Etienne Marçeaux, flapping free in the Paris night. Not my cup of…ahem…café au lait, if you know what I mean,” he snickered. “No, I prefer something a little more fashionable for breakfast. Younger, too.”

  “Xav, stop it,” she said and hopped into bed beside him. On that rainy morning, this was just what she needed—a visit from her best friend, even if he disagreed with her on all things Etienne. In between them, Lenny paid no attention to the conversation, but she enjoyed the snuggles. Etienne hated fur on the bed. “And he was nude because we fucked really hard on the couch before I left.”

  “Wait!” Xavier placed his coffee on the tray so as not to spill it on her fine, expensive linens. “You fucked him, and then you left?”

  With a shrug, she grunted. “Yeah. So?”

  “Love them and leave them!” He leaned in and smooched her cheeks with the tiniest sloppy kisses. “My old January has returned! Oh, I missed you since you started dating that douchebag.”

  “He’s not a douchebag, Xav,” January insisted, even though Xavier saw the truth in her eyes. “Well…maybe sometimes.”

  “I cannot believe you left him last night, though.”

  “I had some thinking to do. It’s been a crazy week.” That was the truth regardless of whatever she told Etienne. And she wanted to give him a taste of his own moody medicine.

  “I just want you to be happy,” Xavier said and turned her shoulders so that she’d face him. “And lately, you are so very sad.”

  “I’m not exactly sad,” January said. “Just…confused.”

  “You want commitment and babies,” he reasoned. “And you can’t have that with a middle-aged man with a vasectomy!”

  “Uh, those things can be reversed.”

  Wincing, Xavier reached for his coffee again. “You’d force a man through that?” He shook his head. “Well, it is Etienne. I could be amused…”

  “Besides, who said I want babies?”

  “Janvier, I see your longing looks at the strollers. You stop and gaze at the baby boutiques. And maybe I need inspiration for a children’s line.”

  “Sounds like you’re looking for a surrogate,” she teased.

  “Oh, no! No, no.” With a giggle, he covered his mouth. “Not that I wouldn’t give you my sperm for personal use—if it came to that. I just don’t want you to be one of these women…forty-years-old, and you realize you missed out on motherhood. Sitting there on a park bench, alone, watching the children play. And every time you get up and walk to another bench, that one egg left in your womb rattles like a spray paint can…”

  “Enough!” she shoved him as her phone began to ring. “Well, if it isn’t Etienne.” With the roll of her eyes, she slid her thumb across the screen. “Bonjour, mon amour…”

  “I’m here…” Etienne said rather cheerfully.

  “You’re where?”

  “At your front door.”

  Perhaps leaving him in the middle of the night was the best idea she’d had all year. “I’ll be right there.”

  “Oh, sacre merde!” Xavier grumbled as he petted Lenny. “He’s here? But I wanted to spend the morning in bed with my Janvier and Lenora before I went to the office.”

  “You don’t have to leave just because Etienne is here.” With that, she made her way to the foyer, wearing nothing but Etienne’s t-shirt that he’d left the other night and a pair of panties.

  When she opened the door, her mouth gaped in surprise. Stacked beside Etienne, a neat pile of his luggage sat, ready to be carried in.

  “Hope you made some room in that closet,” he said with a questioning smile and leaned against the doorframe.

  All along, she really thought he’d just asked her to pack for the sake of the scene. With the week they’d had, she never expected him to actually agree to stay with her. Of course, he’d be leaving soon, but this gave her hope.

  “Well…” January placed her fists on her hips. “I’ll have Xav help you bring those inside.”

  “Oh, Janny…he’s here?” Etienne groaned. “I wanted some time alone—before the girls arrive for the weekend.”

  In truth, she wanted Xavier to stay, just for the sake of the game.

  Etienne carried the first load in himself and followed January to her room. “Out of my bed,” he told Xavier.

  “Did you buy this bed?” Xavier challenged with a bat of his lashes. “This bed belongs to January, and she invited me to sit on it. Jealous much?”

  “As long as you stay out of the closet, all will be fine,” Etienne ribbed him as he hurried to move in. “You could help. We’d have this done soon. And then you could leave.”

  “I am no longer welcome in my own best friend’s home,” Xavier pouted as he crawled out of the king-sized bed. In truth, he really did have to get to work. As he strolled down the hallway like he was on a leisurely walk through the park, Xavier folded his arms over his chest, and Etienne barreled through to retrieve another load.

  But January stopped him in the hallway. “Wait. I think we’ll have to put some things in the hall closet for now—until we can clear the bedroom.”

  “Well, let me at least get my things into the apartment, Janny,” Etienne insisted.

  Meanwhile, behind Etienne, Xavier retrieved one of the bamboo canes from January’s display and swatted it through the air as if he were about to strike Etienne in the ass. Somehow, Xavier managed to return his antique implement to its proper place before Etienne turned around to find out what made January giggle.

  “You’re not really leaving, Xav…?” she asked.

  “I shall see you soon, my divalicious lady,” Xavier said and pecked her cheeks. “You, Marçeaux, be good to my girl.”

  “Or you’ll beat him with a cane,” January muttered in Xavier’s ear as she hugged him. “Je t’aime.”

  “I love you, too, Janvier. Call me. Je t’adore…”

  “What?” January said after she closed the door and turned to face Etienne, whose bewildered look just amused her.

  “Nothing! He’s your friend. He’s not going anywhere. I’ve already accepted that.” Eyes darting from suitcase to suitcase, he grimaced. “What the hell am I going to do with all this?”

  “Maybe we’ll—” She stopped herself from suggesting they find a home that suits them both. “Maybe I’ll make some more coffee, and then we can clear out some drawer space. I have too much lingerie.”

  “I like your lingerie.”

  The rain had stopped, and they decided to sit outside on her small patio. She already knew where the conversation would travel, and they hadn’t spoken a word yet.

  “Janny, why did yo
u go?”

  “I told you,” she began. “I like to sleep in my own bed.”

  Rather than raising his voice as she’d anticipated, Etienne took her hand. “If you needed some time alone, I wish you would have told me. Promise you will tell me in the future?”

  “I can do that,” she said with hesitation. “But I need that from you, too, Etienne.”

  “I promise you, I will tell you if I need some space,” he said and gave her fingers a quick pump. “Right now, though, we must unpack because the girls will be here tomorrow. And you know they do not travel light.”

  # # #

  Life that week had remained constant, but only in the manic heights and depths of despair to which January rose and fell. While Etienne seemed to normalize, her spirits just weren’t in sync. She had too much on her mind, and she wanted some sort of resolution—be it for better or worse.

  However, she summoned her fortitude and made an effort. If it took clearing out a few drawers and paring down her closet to make him realize that he had a home right there with her, she could humor herself into a better mood.

  Oddly, seeing Etienne’s clothes hanging alongside hers in the closet didn’t affect her. She thought she’d discover a burst of joy when that day finally arrived, but now, she was too worried about the future to celebrate the present. In time, she might sigh and gaze for a moment, wrapped in the warmth of the fact that he decided to move in. For now, this was just one small step.

  Even though she’d arrived home late when she made the snap decision to leave him alone at the hotel, she felt well-rested, and she wanted to play tourist in her own neighborhood. Owning an apartment in a big city only made sense if one indulged in its cultural resources.

  They stopped by a small exhibit at the Luxembourg Museum, which was one of January’s favorite places in Paris. A tiny, quiet gallery tucked along the sideline of the gardens, the Luxembourg was January’s go-to spot for some respite in the midst of the Parisian crowds.

  While the rain fell intermittently, they walked along the winding streets but took time to do a little shopping. There was a card and paper store near the Pantheon that January loved. Even in this technological age, she still loved to write letters, and when she was away, she often sent her handwritten thoughts to Etienne, the girls and Xavier. Never could she walk out of that store without buying something.