by M. S. Parker
When the ivory-plated clock chimed two, I finally stood up. I needed to leave or I wouldn’t make myself leave at all .
He sent a quick message with his phone before pulling on his pants .
“You could stay if you wanted to,” he told me as I dressed .
I just shook my head as I picked up my shoes. We paused at the door and he kissed me again .
“Stay,” he murmured .
“Never before the third date.” I had to harden my reserve though .
He groaned, although it was a playful sound. He opened the door and escorted me down the steps. The town car was waiting with the door open. He must have sent Paul a message .
He caught my hand before I got into the car. “What are you doing Tuesday ?”
Seven
“Y ou’re going out with him again ?”
I rolled my eyes at the disapproval in her voice. “I know it seems a little crazy, Kendra, but he’s wonderful. You’d like him .”
She slapped butter on the toast and left it on the counter untouched. Her light green eyes were flashing. “You don’t even know his last name and you’re seeing an awful lot of him .”
“You know,” I said mildly. “For someone who came home at three in the morning on a Monday night, wait, Tuesday morning, you sound awfully judgmental .”
Kendra gnashed into her slice of toast and tossed the other one down the counter at me. We ate in silence as the coffee finished brewing. I poured her a cup and turned to get the milk. I didn’t like arguing with her, but I was a little tired of her double standards. I’d never said anything about her dating habits .
“He’s totally distracted you from getting a job,” she said .
“That’s not true. He’s distracting me from the hell that is my job. I’m happy, K. Can I just be happy for a week ?”
She took the coffee and kissed my cheek. “Fine. You can be happy until rent is due again .”
I was still a little annoyed, but I didn’t want to fight anymore. “You don’t know. Maybe Edward is just dating me because he can sense I’m the world’s next top hand model.” I said, trying to lighten the mood .
I knew she was stressing over the rent. I was, too. We’d put in another call about the landlord issue, but nobody had returned our call and if we didn’t hear from somebody soon, we were either going to have to pay the insane amount that was being asked or leave. It pissed me off because we knew we were being jerked around, but unless we could get somebody to talk to us, what were we supposed to do ?
She grumbled under her breath and left to go shower and pack up. She had a photo shoot that was supposed to last most of the day and I needed to get to work too .
Just a couple of hours and I’d see Edward again. After a crazy week, I needed it .
* * *
P sycho-boss was even more psycho than normal. Even the people who normally fawned over her and kissed her psycho-boss ass were steering clear of her and when she left for lunch, I took my shot at escape, more than happy to head to my lunch date with Edward .
Instead of a restaurant, however, he’d asked me to meet him at Bethesda Fountain in Central Park. I smiled as I saw him coming towards me. He’d left his tie and suit coat in the car, but it was obvious he was coming straight from work. He lifted me up into a joyous kiss before he rolled up his sleeves and threaded my arm through his. We weaved through the tourists taking pictures and wandered further into the park .
“How’s work?” I asked .
“Same old. I have a big meeting this afternoon so I can’t stay too long .”
I tried not to feel too disappointed. “Then you better kiss me again.” I dragged him off the path and leaned up against an oak tree, pulling him towards me. He leaned into me and I wrapped my arms around his neck before our lips met again. The kiss was far too brief for my taste .
“Mmm,” he murmured against my neck. “I’m hungry .”
Teasingly, I said, “But you said you don’t have much time…and we can’t do that here .”
He chuckled and pulled away. “I meant food. Come on .”
“Since we don’t have much time, what do you suggest? Hot dog vendor?” I asked, looking around. The carts were everywhere .
“I have a better idea.” He led me around the tree to a clearing I hadn’t seen until that moment .
Paul waved to us from a blanket on an open spot on the grass. He’d spread out a perfect picnic lunch in view of the lake .
“Wow.” I breathed out a happy sigh. “That’s much better than a vendor .”
Once we settled onto the wool blanket, he opened the wine, handed it to Edward, and left us alone .
“You don’t want to talk about work and you have a driver who also delivers picnics.” I sipped my wine for a moment and then looked up at Edward, lowering my voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Are you Batman ?”
Edward chuckled. “More like Batman’s dutiful son who does all the boring work of keeping a family business afloat .”
“Ah, you’re right. The more you say ‘family business’ the more I know you must be in the mob.” I grinned at him .
“Again, far more exciting than what I do .”
He clinked his wine glass against mine and spread a bite of soft cheese on a chunk of baguette .
“Besides, I’d rather hear about your world .”
“You mean the glamorous world of writing pages for peanuts? The one where I once contemplated using toilet paper for a coffee filter because, after my rent was paid, I couldn’t afford to buy even the cheap ones ?”
“Yes, that one,” Edward said with a smile. “The one where you love the actual work despite everything else. Including toilet paper coffee .”
He popped a bite of salami in my mouth and I sucked his fingers before savoring the salty bite. He licked his lips and moved in closer. Feeling something like Cleopatra, I took a taste of briny olive from his fingers. He rubbed the other half along my lower lip and then bent to kiss its taste from my mouth. I could get used to eating this way .
The next few minutes passed in a lazy, sensual silence and I felt the stress of the morning passing away .
“I have to go soon, but please say we can meet for dinner.” Edward brushed his fingers across my cheek as he spoke .
“Yes, please,” I said .
“This doesn’t bother you ?”
“What?” I gave him a puzzled look .
“I know I’m moving us a little fast, but I can’t help it. If I didn’t have this meeting I would want to spend the whole day with you.” There wasn’t a trace of insincerity in his voice .
“I don’t understand why people think all relationships follow the same timeline,” I said. “Some start fast and some take years to develop .”
Without meaning to, my mind jumped to the firework blast of Flynn. I had to remind myself it was a fling, not a relationship. No matter how much I tried to stop it, he kept coming to mind and the flash of him always made my heart thump. Stop it , I told myself, adding in a mental kick in the ass .
Those two were on total opposite ends of the spectrum .
On the good side was Edward, sitting next to me on the blanket. He whispered questions in my ear about the people we saw in the park and we sipped our wine and laughed as I made up back-stories. The good was us feeding each other creamy bites of Brie cheese and sweet red grapes in between shared smiles, and it would’ve been just as good if the food had been cheap cheddar and crackers .
The bad was the burst of heat I felt when a man walked by with a camera. My cheeks flared as I remembered the teasing pressure of Flynn’s fingers inside me, the flood of pleasure as he’d slowly pulled them out and rubbed me until I’d panted. How he’d felt filling me. The bad was the way he’d jerked his head to the bathroom, telling me I could clean up, collect my cash and get out, thanks, bye. The embarrassment of it still stung .
“Don’t let the wine go to your head,” Edward said, mistaking the pink in my cheeks for something else .
I wasn’t about to correct him. “I’m not the one that has a meeting to go to.” I reminded him .
“Speaking of that.” He sighed. “I have to go. Dinner? Tonight ?”
“Yes and yes .”
“Meet me at The Lotus?” he asked. “I’ll send Paul to pick you up .”
I agreed and we went our separate ways. I picked up my pace, trying to outrun the remembered passion with Flynn .
I’d just had a lovely picnic with Edward and we’d spent the other night together, perfect, romantic and sexy. He’d walked me to the door, asked me, wistfully, if I could spend the night. Then he had kissed me until my toes curled .
Yet my body warmed at the thought of Flynn putting down his camera with lust bright in his dark blue eyes .
I shook my head and walked faster. For once, I hoped work could keep me too busy to think .
* * *
L ater that night, Edward stepped out of a taxi and joined me under the Taj Mahal crowned awning. He looked rumpled and tired, still in the same suit from earlier. Still, he gave me a smile and a kiss .
“How about take out?” I asked .
He gave me a grateful look. “You are a dream come true .”
He had Paul take our order and we lounged in the town car while we waited .
“Work was that bad, huh?” I asked .
“Not work, family. Sometimes it’s like trapping wild dogs in a room. You’re trying to feed them, be nice to them, and all they do is snarl and nip .”
“Your meeting was with your family?” I asked .
“They’re board members so I have to include them. We even had to wait for one to conference call from Amsterdam. Impossible. Just one of the reasons no one else will take the job.” He craned his head on the back of the seat and gave me a tired smile. “Tell me about your day, Gabriella .”
I shrugged and said, “What do you want to hear? About psycho-boss’s latest rampage ?”
His eyes lit with humor. “Yes .”
So I told him, happy to see some of the strain leaving his eyes .
We made small talk until we got to Edward’s house. Once there, I spread the Indian food out on the sideboard in his study while he started a fire. The air wasn’t cold, but we both enjoyed the cozy fireplace. I piled up two plates and he poured two glasses of wine. We sat side by side on the floor and dug in. I wanted to ask him more about work, but he sidestepped it and we ended up arguing about the best movies of the eighties .
“I love this,” he said suddenly .
“What?” I asked, surprised. “Debating bad movies ?”
“No,” he said with a smile. “I love the fact that we can sit here for an entire meal without music, television, or other people and there’s never an awkward silence .”
I paused for as long as I could before I asked, “You mean like that one ?”
He rolled his eyes. “I’m serious, Gabriella, I don’t think I’ve ever dated someone who was such a perfect match .”
He leaned over and kissed me, a soft kiss at first. A soft kiss that quickly became something filled with fire and passion. It wasn’t hurried though. This time, he slowly undressed me, leaving a trail of searing kisses after each removed article of clothing. When I was completely naked, he lifted me onto the couch to straddle his lap. With his arms around my waist, he rocked me up and down against his dress pants until we were both wet from my arousal and his cock was straining against his zipper. Teasing my nipples with his tongue, he fumbled with his pants .
“Darling,” he gasped. “Wait, I need ...”
“I’m on the pill.” I reached down to cup his hardness through his pants. “And I’m clean.” I locked eyes with him. “Are we good ?”
He nodded wordlessly, then groaned as I freed his cock from its confines. I slipped down on him, turned on by the texture of his clothes against my bare body. It heightened the slick skin on skin where our bodies joined and his hands guided me. “That’s it,” he murmured, bringing one hand up to cup my breast. “Harder…faster …”
He threw his head back, the hand at my breasts almost painful .
His cock swelled and I shuddered, feeling myself locking down around him, tightening as my orgasm moved closer .
I whimpered and fell forward, the angle changing and now each movement had me rubbing my clitoris against him and it was so, so good. “Come for me, Gabriella,” he said against my neck, scraping his teeth against my skin .
His thumb circled my nipple and I tensed .
Inside me, the head of his cock passed over my G-spot and I broke, coming around him hard and fast. As though he’d been waiting for just that, he started to drive up into me, each movement quicker and rougher than before .
Three strokes later and he was right there with me, groaning out my name as he climaxed .
Long, breathless moments passed, his hands smoothing up and down my back. I smiled dreamily against his chest when I heard the ragged sound of his heartbeat, slamming in a rhythm that echoed mine .
“Please tell me you can stay tonight .”
“Hmmm…” I turned my face into his neck. “It is the third date .”
“That’s a yes?” His arm tightened around my waist .
“Yes.”
* * *
T he next morning, I woke up in Edward’s upstairs master suite .
I was alone in the king-sized bed and for one panicked moment, I froze. Then I heard the shower running and the tension drained away .
Smiling that giddy smile that tried so often to overtake me, I stretched and turned my head, following the sound of splashing water until I saw the closed door. We definitely weren’t taking things slow, but everything felt so comfortable, so right .
We liked the same foods, laughed at the same television shows, loved the same bad science fiction, and had the same ideas of what constituted a perfect day. Though, as the sunlight streamed into his inner sanctum, I realized there was one giant divide between us. I shifted uneasily .
He was rich. Not just hard-working, the right kind of career rich, but family legacy money rich. I may not have known who his family was, but there was no doubt about it. The master suite not only had a fireplace, it had a family crest engraved above it .
The sound of water cut off and I sat up, looking around nervously for something to put on. I didn’t quite manage to come up with anything before the bathroom door opened and Edward appeared in the opening, smiling at me .
“You’re awake. Good morning, gorgeous .”
“Hmmm. I was lazing about for a few more minutes.” I glanced down and watched as a bead of water slid down his chest .
“Laze away.” He smiled at me. “In fact, Paul’s going to run me in to the office. I’ll have breakfast sent up and by the time you’ve eaten, he’ll be back. When you’re ready, he’ll drive you to work .”
Ah yes, work. Slaving away for a menial wage while desperately hoping that my talent would one day be recognized. The perfect thing to remind me of how different our lives were .
He leaned down to kiss me as someone knocked on the door. His lips brushed against mine and then he called for whoever it was to enter. A moment later, a maid brought in a silver breakfast tray. She gave him a polite nod, but didn’t even look at me as she left the tray on the dresser. He thanked her and followed her out, pausing to blow me a kiss at the door .
Poached eggs with salmon, fresh bread lightly toasted, and a French press of heavenly strong coffee all tempted me from the foot of the bed, but first I reached for my phone .
“Okay. This is killing me…I still can’t get him to tell me his last name.” I eyed the crest, something elegant and Old World looking and shook my head. “He says he’s not Batman, but that’s all I can get out of him .”
“Are you calling me from his bed ?”
Of course that would be her first question. “Yes. He’s left me here with a luxury breakfast that was delivered by a maid. When I’m done, a car will take me to work .”
; “Think you can get some coffee filters while you have access to a chauffeur? We’re out. Have you ever tried the bodega’s coffee? I think it may actually be muddy water they warm up and throw sugar in .”
“You bought their coffee ?”
“It was cheaper than the filters. So do you have a plan to figure out what he’s hiding ?”
“I do,” I said, pouring fragrant coffee into a delicate China cup. “I’m going to call in late with some excuse and then tell the driver I’m supposed to meet Edward at his office. Boom, I find out what this family business is and why he’s hiding his last name .”
“Just the fact that he won’t tell you his last name should be a red flag,” Kendra said .
I sighed. “Yes, and then I think of the romantic dates, the great conversations, and the oh-so-sweet sex. Really, what’s in a name ?”
“Seriously, Juliet? You do remember how that whole ‘what’s in a name’ thing worked for her and her boy ?”
I scowled at the phone .
She continued, “Well, text me if your office surprise doesn’t work. Then bring him to Tony’s so I can meet him. Someone better assess if he’s a knight in shining armor or a thinly veiled psycho-killer .”
“Ah, Tony’s Pizza,” I said. “Always the perfect Plan B .”
Paul was dozing in the front seat of the town car when the maid opened the front door for me twenty minutes later. She coughed loudly and he jolted awake and jumped out to open the car door. I smiled, wondering how much sleep the poor guy had gotten in the past few days. Edward and I had to have been running him ragged .
“Where to, Ms. Gabriella ?”
“Edward told me to meet him at his office.” I tried to sound breezy and casual. Whether or not he believed me, Paul nodded and started the car .
We headed straight into Manhattan. Paul had fierce driving skills. He could give any New York cabbie a run for his money. He navigated snarled lanes of traffic, using his Bluetooth to send messages on his cellphone .