I then felt his other hand reach up to touch my neck as I rested my head to the right side. His finger traced an invisible line down my shoulders to my wrist and back. I found myself wanting to turn and face him. When I did, I could see the raw desire and passion in his eyes. They bore into mine and knocked my breath away. I’d never had a man look at me that way before.
“What do you see when you look at me?” I asked in a voice barely higher than a whisper.
“Something that scares me. Something that captivates me. Something that moves me in a way that I’ve never experienced before,” he said leaning towards me as he ran his fingers down my face.
“Axel…” I felt so overwhelmed by the look in his eyes.
“I want you in my life…” he whispered against my lips.
I didn’t speak. I almost felt that I couldn’t. It was as if his words erased anything that I could think to say. He ran his fingers along my hairline and over my eyebrows, and down my nose. He pulled me into him, forcing me to straddle his lap as I eagerly wrapped y arms around his neck. I broke our kiss to look into his eyes. There was something there. Something that I’d seen before, but it was so much stronger. It scared me, but at the same time, it intrigued me. I wanted to know what that look was. I craved it.
Chapter Four
The next morning was lively and fresh as we made our way around the streets of Barcelona Spain. The colors of the sky, the sounds of the people, the feel of the warm atmosphere, and the smell of the food took me in and welcomed me. The people here were so diverse ranging from so many lovely dark browns to the lighter skin tones.
Spain was one of those places where, even if you’ve never been there before, you wonder how you lived so long without it. Axel’s hand was wrapped around mine in such a way that caused shivers down my spine before he leaned over to kiss my cheek and whisper in my ear.
“Are you still craving seafood?”
“Ooh, I’ve heard that seafood in Spain is like no other,” I told him.
“Can you smell that?”
“How can I not, I’ve smelled it for the last thirty minutes. If I don’t get to food soon, my stomach feels like it’s going to get out and walk to the nearest restaurant.”
“Well, then you’re in luck,” he said, and suddenly turned down the nearest alleyway. Looking to my left, I finally noticed a small restaurant, and as we got closer I read aloud in Spanish.
“Rias De Galicia.”
“It’s small, but the flavor has nothing to with it; you’re going to love this place.”
As soon as were seated, and ordered our food, the first bite that I took proved the Axel was a connoisseur of fine dining. The first bite was an explosion of the freshest flavor of seafood I had ever experienced. It was like a roller coaster was being featured on my taste buds. My eyes had clamped shut for that moment, almost out of reflex.
“Did I tell you this was a good place or what!” he said noting my expression.
“Oh, this is like heaven in my mouth!” I exclaimed before taking a bite out of another shrimp.
“I’m so glad you think so. How about we get some dessert for after?”
“If it’s anywhere near as good as this seafood, then count me in!”
When we finally got back to the hotel, it was after walking nearly the entire city, and enjoying the culture of Spain in its purest form. My head was against the pillow almost instantly as soon as my shoes were off. Though I’d left my clothes on, I didn’t feel that I had enough energy to take them off. Though who better than to come to my aid than Axel.
I felt him peel back my dress from around my shoulders, until he eventually slid the whole thing off. I heard him walk away and figured that he was finding an appropriate place to put the dirty laundry. I’d rolled over on my side before he came back, to see that he was dressed for bed, with a t-shirt in hand. I smiled as I sat up to dress myself.
When I laid back down, Axel had reached out his hand to scoop me up so he could snuggle close with me. My head rested right under his chin, our legs wrapped around each other, and his hand held my so tenderly. I took a deep breath as it threatened to turn into a yawn. I was so exhausted.
No matter how bad I wanted to make love, I barely had the energy to blink. Our day was long and beautiful, but it was time to retire. I snuggled even closer as Axel draped the sheets around us and yawned just before I closed my eyes.
“Sleep well, beautiful,” he whispered before I fell into a deep sleep.
***
We’d spent the better half of the morning sleeping in. When we finally woke up, it was almost eleven. Axel said he’d woken up a little bit earlier, but stayed in the bed because he didn’t want to wake me.
“You’re such a big lug, you know that?” I asked as I playfully sway at his nose.
“I can’t help it. There’s something about you,” he said picking up one of my curls before dropping it back down and repeating.
“You love these curls huh?” I asked before he did it once again.
“I do.”
“You know, Ethan hated when I let them fly wild. Bedhead was his worst enemy.”
“What? I love that. Your hair is all in my face wild and pretty. I love whatever it is you use to make it smell like that,” he said grabbing a handful of hair and taking a deep breath.
“I’m glad you think so,” I said giggling before he pulled me closer to him as he buried his nose in my hair.
“It does! It smells like a tropical paradise!” he exclaimed while tickling me as he pulled me back when I tried to get away.
“Stop! Stop, Axel!” I said laughing and trying to catch my breath.
“I heard you, but I didn’t hear a please,” he teased as he continued to tickle me.
“Please! Please stop! I’m going to pee myself!” I said before I shot out of the bed and raced towards the bathroom.
“I’m shocked at how fast you got away from me,” he said upon my return.
“When I have to go, I have to go,” I said laying my lips against his chest.
“Speaking of going, when did you want to head out?” he asked as his fingers roamed through my jungle of hair.
“Whenever you’re ready,” I answered as I lifted my lips from his skin.
“Let’s get dressed and get some breakfast,” he said sitting up after I’d gotten off the bed. Crossing the large room to the extravagant bathroom, I flipped on the lights and hoped into the shower. As I was getting out, Axel was stripping in preparation to get in.
Dropping the towel, I began to lather myself with coconut oil as the shower started spraying once again. As I was about to smooth some over my hairline, I heard a familiar tune humming in the background. Was Axel singing in the shower?
I smiled when I confirmed that he was. He was singing Stevie Wonder, and leaning closer, I realized that it was, Isn’t She Lovely. I began to nod my head to the tune as I continued to get ready. He was no Stevie Wonder, but his voice was sweet.
By the time the song was over, I’d brushed my teeth, fixed my hair and clothed myself in short and a light gray halter top. I purposely dressed down this morning because I felt like being in more casual surroundings. Though Axel was probably planning on going somewhere fancy, I felt a little overwhelmed by it all. I needed some familiarity as much as possible.
“You’re looking comfy today. It looks good on you,” he said as he stood beside me in the mirror. His waist was wrapped in a towel as he moistened his toothbrush.
“Yeah, I felt like chilling today. I don’t know what you’ve planned for today, but I want to be as casual as possible. I’m not used to all of this spending,” I said.
He understood, and was perfectly fine with my request. He finished up with his morning routine and got dressed before we headed downstairs. I noticed as we crossed the lobby, hand in hand, that we were getting some looks from another couple.
I smiled at them, but it wasn’t returned. I noticed some look of disapproval before they looked away from us. I wasn�
��t used to getting that look. It finally dawned on me why. I’d always been with Ethan, who was black, but now I’m with Axel, who is not. I’d always heard of those looks from Josie. Though she wasn’t fully Caucasian, there were times where she didn’t look like she was mixed with black.
I realized that I should just brush it off. I remember Josie telling me that it comes with the territory of dating interracially. So shrugging my shoulders as we walked outside, I snuggled up closer to Axel, and we continued to enjoy our day.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“Park De Montjuic. It has a beautiful botanical garden that I think you’d enjoy,” he said as we began our adventure.
“I’ve never been to one before,” I said as we ventured further in. It was such a happy place. There were kids running around with ice creams and parents talking amongst each other in Spanish.
“Good, I’m glad this will be your first one.”
By the time we’d gotten to the garden, I agreed with him when he said that he was glad this would be my first botanical garden. It was set up in such a way, that you could discover a variety of different regions throughout the world. Australia, California, Mediterranean, South Africa and Chile were all just a few paces away.
I was in such awe at all of the native vegetation in each region that I didn’t realize that it was getting darker by the time we were done. Since we’d eaten breakfast at lunch time, I wasn’t hungry until now. Asking Axel for the time, he read his watch.
“It’s almost six. What are you hungry for?” he asked as we stood at the curb, waiting for another taxi.
“I’m kind of tired from the walk; let’s just order room service,” I said as a taxi pulled up.
“Sounds good, plus tomorrow we’re going to France, we’ll travel late morning early afternoon. This will give us time to sleep in,” he said.
Chapter Five
Paris was just like in the movies; beautiful. Full of lively people and extraordinary architecture. Just hours earlier, I’d heard and gotten used to the sound of Spanish, and now, I was listening intently to French. It was a lot different than Spanish, but it still had that distinctive flow to it that I could grow to love.
“Jaida?” I heard Axel ask me suddenly.
“Yes?” I asked.
“Did you hear me?” he asked amused by my fascination with my surroundings.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?” I asked.
“I was asking if you were hungry,” he repeated as we walked up to the door of our building.
“Not really, but I could go for a snack.”
“I’m glad you said that. How about some fresh macaroons?” he asked me.
“I have never triedthem before.”
“Jaida, you have not truly lived until you’ve had a real French macaroon.”
“Well in that case, you have been dating a corpse,” I said making him laugh before we walked up to the receptionist.
“Bonjour, et bienvenue à Hôtel Le Meurice Paris. Welcome to our grand hotel! Do you have a reservation?”
Axel responded in French, surprising the beautiful receptionist, as she smiled bright with shock. I didn’t understand what they were saying, but I knew that she was complimenting him on his speech. He thanked her, and took the keys before turning to lead me towards our room.
Or should I say castle. It was like I stepped out of today and went straight back into the Victorian ages. The room was accented with rich shades of red-violets and golds. The furniture was pristine and tinted silver. The room was set up different from the other room that we’d just left. Whereas that suite had its own living area and bedroom, this hotel had everything on one floor plan. Except for the bathroom I noticed immediately as I looked to my right. I had a love of extravagant bathrooms, mainly because I loved a nice bubble bath.
Axel came up behind me and wrapped his arms just under my busts. He pulled me into him before he planted a kiss on my shoulder. I smiled at his touch, and felt the hairs on my arms stand up. My heart began to thrum in my chest faster as the moments flew by.
“You’re so irresistible. I can’t take my eyes off of you,” he said as his nose drew a line from my shoulder my neck. I felt his lips against my temple before he turned me around.
“Axel,” I started before his fingers were against my lips.
He leaned in to kiss me, but before our lips met, there was a knock on the door. He didn’t move at first. I could see the hunger in his eyes; I felt it, as I was pressed up against him. The door knocked again as his hands gripped at the flesh of my breasts.
“Axel, go get the door,” I said between hot kisses.
“They’ll come back,” he said as he began to undress me by pulling off my shirt.
“Monsieur Axel?” I heard an older voice call through the doors.
Axel growled in aggravation when he realized that he should get the door. Prying himself from my touch, he walked off in the direction of the door. I recovered my shirt before putting it on and sitting on the bed. I couldn’t see who Axel was talking to; his broad shoulders blocked my view.
After a few words, Axel turned to tell me he’d be right back and left the room with the older woman. I didn’t realize how comfortable the bed was until now. The sheets were laid so perfectly I didn’t want to rearrange them. However; the room was a little chilly. I decided to compromise and only untuck the sheets from the left side.
I got comfortable, and felt myself begin to relax, but not enough to get sleepy. I wanted to be awake when he came back. So I decided to read a French magazine that was lying on the nightstand. Of course, none of it made sense to me except the occasional “bonjour” and “wi”, but it was still something to keep my eyes occupied.
I flipped to another page in the magazine. It was a beautiful scene painted with pink petals, big trees, and a sun-soaked field of grass. I imagined myself amongst the foliage, running through it, stopping to smell the flowers, and soaking up the rich warm rays of sun. I could almost feel the rough bark of the tree and the scent of the flowers were so strong I could almost taste their sweetness.
I felt so warm and so happy, as I lived in that picture that I didn’t want to imagine anything else at that moment. I felt so at peace and so happy. That’s when I heard my name.
“Jaida? Did you want to see the Eifel Tower?”
I didn’t realize that I had fallen asleep until I woke up. When I opened my eyes, I noticed that the light was gone from outside, and the soft glow of the lamps in the hotel room illuminated my surroundings. Sitting up and looking to my left where Axel kneeled on the bed beside me, I reached my hand up to brush the hair out of my face.
“How long was I sleeping?” I asked.
“About three hours now. I didn’t want to wake you up because I knew you were tired. Though I do want you to see the Eiffel tower at night before we leave in two days,” he said with a smile.
“I’m sorry, we were supposed to get macaroons,” I said placing my hand against his arm.
He only chuckled before he picked up a pink ribbon box that was resting behind him. He gave the box a little shake before placing it in my lap. I turned my head away from him, smiling as I looked down at the package I started unfastening. When the ribbon was unfastened, I opened the box and saw an assortment of what looked like tiny hamburgers.
“These are macaroons?” I asked looking back over at him.
“Yes, try one, they’re delicious.”
“Which one should I try first?” I asked on account of they all looked so yummy.
“If you like hazelnut, then you should try this one,” he said lifting a light brown macaroon out of the box.
He offered it to me, and taking a bite I immediately fell in love. The crisp mixed with the soft crème that lay inside was such a decadent treat that I instantly needed more. I reached back into the box to grab another when I realized how hungry I was. A growl had alerted me of my stomach’s presence.
“Maybe I should go and eat something.”
&nbs
p; “There’s a place not too far from the Eiffel tower. We could sit out, and enjoy the scenery.”
“Oh, that sounds nice. I’ll go get freshened up.”
When we finally made it to the restaurant, it was after six in the evening. We were seated out on the balcony of a fancy restaurant whose name I couldn’t correctly pronounce. It was such a romantic scene. I imagined myself in a movie featuring the incredibly handsome Axel Frost.
“You should try escargot while we’re here.”
“Oh no! No! That’s not a good idea,” I said while shaking my head. Axel’s eyes lit up as he smiled at my reaction.
“It’s really not so bad. It has the taste of clam and oyster. Some people even think it tastes like chicken.”
“Everything tastes like chicken,” I commented with a hint of sarcasm.
“That is strange how people think everything tastes like chicken isn’t it?”
“It really is. Let’s order it,” I said abruptly, shocking his as his thick eyebrows shot to his hairline.
“Wow, I was not expecting you to agree so quickly,” he said in honesty as his blue eyes twinkled in the light from the candle.
“Well, how many times do you get to visit Paris?” I said.
“All the time, I’m rich,” he commented causing my cheeks to hurt from laughter.
“Wow, Axel!” I said between laughter.
“It’s not as fun without you, though. Even though you slept most of the day, it was nice to have someone there with me,” he explained.
“That’s sweet,” I said as he reached out to touch my hand. I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye, and turned to get a better look. I noticed a blonde woman in black. She wasn’t alone; her companion sat with his back turned to us, and didn’t seem to notice his partners obvious staring. I furrowed my eyebrows slightly before she turned her head away and focused on the plate in front of her.
“What’s wrong, babe?” Axel asked as he noticed my change in demeanor.
“Just some lady over there,” Axel turned discreetly to look over his shoulder at the woman, “she just keeps staring,” I said just as Axel turned his back.
(2 Book Box Set) Loving The White Billionaire: 2 & 3 Page 3