Sophie's Journey: A steamy adult romance (Eternal Flame Book 1)

by A. J. Milton

  Desire and sexual tension were now returned to sub-critical levels, so we wandered into the kitchen to eat, drink and talk. “Beware,” I warned her. “This is the first homemade lasagne I have tried.” She gave me some cheeky backchat while I served which I merely added to the list of excuses to spank her again sometime. That delightfully cute butt seemed to enjoy our first spanking session, so I was hoping for an extended replay sometime! But actually, the meal wasn’t half bad, and the bottle of deep red Barolo complimented it wonderfully. I hadn’t made the dessert, but an up-market Tiramisu from the supermarket rounded off the Italian style meal perfectly.

  After dinner, I informed Sophie that I had a proposition for her. She giggled and waited expectantly. I said, “Well the bad news is that I have to go away for a few days on business next week. But the good news is that I’m going to New York and wondered if you would like to join me if I add an extra weekend on top of my business trip?” Her eyes lit up with excitement and she nearly jumped out of her chair to hug me.

  “Oh wonderful,” she said, “I’ve always wanted to see the Big Apple!” And then her smile faded and she hesitated, saying, “Alex, umm… I’m not sure if I can afford the flight right now.”

  I said, “Look, little miss independent… actually, it won’t cost anything. Because I’m a frequent flyer I get special deals once in a while. My business pays full fare for my flights, and once a year I get a free companion ticket to match whatever flight I want. So basically, it’s a freebie and your sense of financial honour can remain untarnished!”

  “Oh wow!” she exclaimed, with that sparkling smile back on her face and her whole demeanour radiating excitement.

  I poured us another glass of wine each and raised my glass, “Is that a yes then?”

  “Yes! Please. Thank you, my lovely man,” she beamed. I explained to her that I would probably be working two days and maybe another morning, but that we would have all the evenings and a least two extra full days in New York city all to ourselves, depending on which flights I managed to confirm. “Sounds awesome,” she breathed.

  We drank more wine and talked about the Big Apple for a little while, and then I decided to brave the question about what she planned to do for the rest of the summer break. She switched into a pensive mode and bit her lip.

  “I’m honestly not sure,” she said. “I can’t stay in Southampton if we get those foreign students, and I was going to get a job near my parents but I certainly won’t be able to stay there now. Can I stay here for a few days until I figure things out?”

  “Darling, you can stay here for as long as you like. I would love to have you here all summer, but I won’t pressure you in any way, and I will be busy working part of the time.”

  “Oh Alex, I want to be here with you, but if I stay here I doubt I would be able to find any jobs nearby, and I wouldn’t be able to contribute for my keep, and I hate being a freeloader.”

  “Look little darling, if you stay here with me, then we are sharing our lives. But we are absolutely not keeping score, and money is not something we should allow to come between us. I know that you will contribute whatever you can to our relationship, and I couldn’t ask for more. The only thing I need is your love.”

  I saw tears in her eyes, so I led her through into the living room where we could snuggle on the couch and I could hold her. “Hey, Sophie darling, please don’t get upset.”

  “Oh Alex, I’m not upset. It’s my turn for happy tears. I love you so much and you are so good to me, and yes, I desperately want to live with you and be your partner, lover, whatever!”

  ~ Sophie ~

  The next few days passed quickly. Selfishly I did very little at all for a couple of days. It was so good just to chill out and unwind after the stress of the exams and my parental confrontations. I did cook dinner for him one night to make sure he didn’t change his mind and throw my lazy butt out of the door. I knew he wouldn’t really, but helping cook and even taking charge in the kitchen had suddenly become enjoyable instead of a chore.

  I made us a big cottage pie. I slightly overdid the quantities, and it’s hardly a mid-summer meal, but it was on my list of passably decent creations, and just doing cold meat and salad would have seemed like chickening out. He had a second helping, so it can’t have been too bad! Living with him felt so natural and easy and I was very determined to make the most of it.

  I did bite the bullet and I phoned my sister Gill. Initially, she was pretty negative and had a go at me for upsetting our parents. But when I explained everything she warmed up a bit. I can’t say she was at all positive, but I think I turned her to more or less neutral, which was a relief because I didn’t want to totally run out of family members right now. We agreed to meet up in a few weeks’ time.

  And I discovered that I could voice chat to Yvette using the internet. So, I could actually practice my French speaking as well as my writing. We had several long talks about Alex and my family, and her work. And I provisionally agreed that we would visit her in Paris towards the end of the vacation period. She seemed very pleased and I’m sure she was flirting with me quite overtly when she told me how she was looking forward to seeing her beautiful, sexy young English friend again.

  Alex just laughed when I told him. “Well, darling. We sort of suspected that she fancies you.”

  “But doesn’t it bother you that another woman is flirting with me?”

  “Well she seems nice, and we don’t know for sure she has any intention of doing any more than just flirt,” he replied. “And I guess I’m like many men… having another woman fancy you is sort of OK, whereas if it was another man, I would certainly not like it and would probably get all territorial.”

  “So, what should I do?”

  He looked thoughtfully at me. “I think the real question is how do you feel about it? If you are definitely not interested, then sometime you are going to have to make that clear… Or are you interested in her as more than just a friend?”

  I felt my face flush, and I really wasn’t totally sure of the answer.

  “I don’t think so. I’ve never really wanted to go with a woman, although I thought about it a couple of times. What I do know for a fact is that I love you, not her.”

  “I know you do darling. So, let’s not worry about it right now. Anyway, the thought of you naked with a pretty French woman is affecting my baser male animal instincts. I think you need to help me deal with this growing bulge.”

  We parked the discussion, and made for the bedroom. I had a feeling that subject of Yvette was not entirely resolved, but I was grateful to him for distracting me and not pushing me to think too much about it right at this moment.

  Chapter 9

  New York

  ~ Sophie ~

  I sat in the back of the car holding Alex’s hand and gazing out of the window. We were just crossing the Queensboro bridge into Manhattan and I was about to become part of that world famous, iconic skyline. I thought back about the last twenty hours which had gone by in something of an awed daze.

  *****

  Alex had driven up to London late last night to miss all the heavy traffic. We had stayed at one of the Heathrow airport hotels and got up quite early. Alex said that we would have breakfast in the airport, so we just had complimentary coffee and biscuits in our room before checking out. My previous experiences of airport food weren’t that positive but I went with the flow.

  Arriving at Departures, it wasn’t long before we were standing in the terminal concourse. “Do you want to look round the shops?” he asked.

  “Not really, I would prefer to get some coffee and breakfast.”

  As we walked into the British Airways Business and First Class lounge, I suddenly realised that this was not air travel as I had previously known it. This was a different experience altogether. As we walked to a quiet area with massive padded seats and footrests, I could see the complimentary breakfast buffet with fresh croissants, Danish pastries, toast, and that was just the start. I did
n’t think I could handle champagne for breakfast. Fresh coffee was just fine by me. We settled down and enjoyed our food.

  “Do you always travel like this,” I asked in amazement.

  “Mostly. I can always get into the BA lounges, whatever class of flight I’m on.”

  “How the other half lives!” I sighed jealously.

  “Maybe, but I have had to spend an awful lot of boring hours sitting on planes and in airports for many years to qualify for the perks. I think like most frequent flyers we get numb to the travel, and would probably hate it without the little comforts to make it bearable.”

  I was thinking that I could find this lifestyle quite bearable myself, when our flight status changed to BA 0175 Boarding on the monitor screen. And when we got onto the plane my delight continued. Although we didn’t have window seats we had two seats together in the centre of the plane that had more combined space than my double bed in my student house. I hadn’t realised just how much room there was in business class on a 747 compared to the cramped delights of holiday flights like the last one we had been on from Dahab. And my poor little student alter-ego was very happy to indulge in the delightful menu and the constant flow of free drinks.

  *****

  So now here we were in New York, and it was still only early afternoon local time. We arrived at our hotel which was close to Times Square. Big room with separate lounge area, big bed (check!), bath and big shower (check!), and views across the city. What more could I ask for? We unpacked and then went straight out to soak up the feel of the city.

  Alex said, “I love New York. I don’t think I would want to live here, but the buzz and the atmosphere are hard to beat. Visiting for a few days at a time lets me get hyped up without wearing me out!” As we wandered the streets around Times Square and Broadway, I could see what he meant. It was a busy and manic melting pot, but even so, it had a sort of local neighbourhood feel that gave it an authentic charm. I lapped up the ambience, enjoying every minute.

  With the time difference, it was going to be a very long day, so after a while, we went back to the hotel for a session of making out and relaxing togetherness. Then we went out for an early dinner. Alex took me to the revolving buffet restaurant near the top of the big Marriott hotel in Times Square. We got a window table for two and the panoramic views across the city in the early evening light were amazing. We took our time with our meal, enjoying the views, the atmosphere, and our ability to get wrapped up in pleasant conversation with each other.

  It had been over twenty-two hours since we got up this morning, so we retired early to bed. Some slightly weary but nevertheless passionate lovemaking was the perfect end to the day.

  Alex arose quite early in the morning to go to his business meetings, leaving me in bed with a room service tray of goodies for my breakfast. He gave me some ideas of places to go, plus a very long deep kiss, and then departed.

  It was a nice warm summer day and luckily not too hot. I walked down 7th Avenue and looked around Macy’s for a while. Then I spent pretty much the whole day wandering south down into Greenwich Village and SoHo. I found little bars to stop for coffee and soak up the neighbourhood atmosphere, and a cool little Deli where I concocted a suitable sandwich for lunch and sat out in Washington Square park to eat it. I could see what Alex meant about New York, the vibrancy and buzz of the city were overwhelming and yet each little area did have its own sort of local feel to it.

  Whenever a little clothes shop, boutique or art gallery caught my eye I would wander in and look around. No way I could afford any of the art, but it’s nice to dream. By early afternoon I had succumbed to the temptation for some retail therapy and had a new pair of jeans and a couple of tops. Naturally, I persuaded myself that the purchases were fully justified because these particular items simply wouldn’t be found at home in England. Yeah, that’s a good excuse until the credit card bill arrives! By mid-afternoon, it was time to head back towards the hotel, and even my comfy training shoes were telling me I had spent most of the day on my feet.

  *****

  I was soaking in a hot bath with a cloud of bubbles when Alex arrived back. I beckoned him to join me, and he slipped into the bath. We washed each other playfully while I told him about my day and how much I had enjoyed exploring even that relatively small part of this big city.

  After bathing, I made us tea in the lounge area of our suite and we sat talking on the big couch in our dressing gowns. He teased me about seeing me yet again in a shapeless big white fluffy towelling gown, so I called his bluff by removing it entirely and sitting on his lap, opening his own gown, and pressing myself against his bare chest.

  I pouted, “If you want me to freeze to death just to satisfy your silly fashion sense…. then you will just have to share your body heat!”

  It wasn’t long before our tongues were intertwined and hands were wandering affectionately. Neither was it long before I felt that bulge underneath me growing harder and firmer. I released his beautiful cock and then gently guided it into my special place where it belonged. Once it was firmly embedded deep inside me, I looked him in the eyes and said,

  “New game called ‘statues’. My rules: First one to move or speak loses!” He opened his mouth as if to say something and then realised that would be admitting an early defeat. So, he just took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Of course, I hadn’t told him that I considered bending the rules to be perfectly legitimate, so I squeezed my internal muscles tight around his cock. I could feel him tense and his breath change, and I could sense him having to restrain from jerking his hips in response to my rippling and tweaking muscles. He managed to keep more or less still for nearly five minutes while I teased his cock mercilessly.

  “You win!”, he gasped eventually.

  “What’s my prize big boy?”

  He picked me up and half threw me over the arm of the couch so that my butt was well and truly in the air and exposed. Two quite firm smacks landed on my bare buttocks which made me squeak. Then his hard cock re-entered me firmly and forcefully. I gasped as his balls bounced against my clit.

  “I think your prize is a bit of a spanking for cheating,” he chuckled and another firm smack both stung and tingled. The warm glow spread from my butt through my body, and once again I realised that his playful discipline was making me seriously turned on. I moaned and asked him to fuck me hard.

  “My pleasure, little darling,” he whispered as he put his hands on my hips and thrust hard all the way. My pussy was wet and dripping as he pounded in and out of me. I felt my orgasm building and at the moment I started coming he smacked me again which sent my brain into a spin with the intensity of my climax. I heard him grunt and felt him shoot inside me, then he pulled out and spurted the rest of his cum all over my glowing butt which was an amazing new sensation as I felt his hot sticky juices on the tingling skin where he had spanked me.

  He cleaned me up with tissues and a damp cloth and then we cuddled up together on the bed. I told him I could quite get into him disciplining me, every now and then. He smiled and squeezed me tight.

  “It does something for me too. Perhaps we should explore the bondage and domination theme a bit more deeply sometime?” I nodded and cuddled up close to him.

  Although we were both quite tired, there was no way we were wasting an evening in New York, so we took a cab down to SoHo to have dinner at a little Italian restaurant I had spotted on my travels earlier.

  Over dinner, we talked about the rest of my vacation before going back to university. Alex offered some suggestions about work.

  “I had two ideas. Firstly, I know a little company close by that is doing OK but could do with some temporary help for a few weeks at most. It would only be doing some research. Hbelping with preparing reports and documents, and maybe some client interviews but at least it would pay a bit and is reasonably relevant to your studies.”

  “The other idea is that I know a local charity that always needs occasional volunteers. It wouldn’t pay anything,
but some charity work always looks good on a student’s CV when it comes to job hunting and apart from being worthwhile it could help pass the time for some of the rest of your break.”

  “Are you actually a wizard or something? How do you conjure up all this stuff? It all sounds so wonderful.”

  “Well, there is a downside.” He looked concerned as he spoke. “I know the guy that runs that little company rather well. I’m a bit worried that he will find you rather attractive and try to get you into bed. In fact, you might have to sleep with him just to get the job.”

  “WHAT!?” I couldn’t believe what I had heard.

  “Okay, well perhaps that was asking a bit much. But sometimes you have to go the extra mile to get a good job.”

  I was still stunned into silence. Surely my loving Alex couldn’t really be suggesting I sleep with another man?

  “Well, just so you know. It is my own company. Or maybe you just don’t want to sleep with me anymore?”

  “You… bad man! You are going to pay for winding me up like that,” I threatened. “I’m not so sure I can work for a man who can’t keep his hands off the hired help.” And then we both laughed. The waiter looked relieved as I think he thought a row or a scene had been brewing.

  “Seriously,” he said. “I am doing some extra work which will allow me to get into a new area in one of my clients. And I really could do with a bit of help, so it is a genuine job offer and some of your time will be charged to the client. Although it won’t be much more than a couple of weeks in total. So, you’re not going to earn a fortune, I’m afraid.”

  My wonderful man was so very good at looking after me.

  *****

  The next morning, I went to the Top of the Rock at the Rockefeller Plaza to see the New York skyline from up high. It was a beautiful summer morning and the views were magnificent. I stayed there as long as I could. Even with other sightseers milling around there was a peaceful solitude at the top of the world and my life felt so good.