"We'll see!" He planted a very light tap on her bottom, causing her to yelp and realise how very sore her bottom still was, and probably would be for at least a couple of days. "But now, love, I think we should go back to sleep for a while. I don't want you over-tired when we're later."
She began to protest, but even as she did so, a yawn formed, so she let him pull the blankets tighter around them and she quickly fell to sleep in his arms, a smile tugging at her lips as, despite her burning bottom, she felt safe and secure with Max.
Chapter Five
Elise stretched one leg slowly out of the bathtub, letting the steaming water and perfumed bubbles splash over the edge. They'd arrived back in Kuvanerk that afternoon and practically the first thing she'd done, once they'd checked back into their hotel, was make a beeline for the tub. Despite all the massages over the last couple weeks, Elise was stiff and sore and wanted to make the most of soaking in limitless warm water.
She smiled to herself. Max had firmly scrubbed any idea of separate rooms once they arrived at the hotel, and had swiftly swapped their previous booking for one large master suite. She felt she'd turned a huge corner in her life and in their relationship, although she couldn't help having a few worries over the uncertainties that she knew awaited them. She was planning to accept the editor position as soon as she got back to London, and she knew that she and Max were going to continue to see each other. But she wasn't sure where she would base herself or exactly how it would work balancing the desk job editing, the assignments she might still want to do herself, as well as a relationship with such a commanding, dominant man. She'd never had any ties or real responsibilities before and, although she was looking forward to embracing them, the prospect still unnerved her.
"Are you going to sleep in there, sweetheart?" Max's deep voice teased her as he stepped out of the shower on the other side of the large bathroom.
She glanced up at him, her eyes skimming over his hard chest to the towel he'd casually draped over his hips more, she suspected, to stop water dripping over the bathroom than any desire for modesty. One of the things she loved about him was his natural lack of inhibition. Not, she thought, that she'd gotten to experience that much of it herself. Although the cabin had been comfortable, the conditions had been much too cold for either of them to parade around naked. She was pretty sure though, from little things he'd said, that he expected complete honesty and openness in a relationship, with no room for embarrassment or concealing anything, whether physical or emotional. For him, such openness seemed to go hand in hand with his view of intimacy.
"Mmm... That sounds like a good plan." She yawned and batted some stray bubbles away from her face, sliding a little deeper into the water. "I think I could sleep for a week!"
Max laughed and perched on the side of the tub, pushing behind her ear a stray tendril of her hair that had escaped her loose topknot. "If you sleep for a week, you won't make it to dinner. I thought that after two weeks of camp food, you might like to go out for drinks and then dinner? There's a nice bar in town that I know, if you fancy?"
Her eyes shining, she sat up in the bath, splashing water over him. With her daydreaming she'd forgotten how hungry she was and drinks and dinner were just what she needed. "That sounds great!" she exclaimed, a grin spreading over her face as she looped her arms around his neck and pulled his head down towards her for a long, lingering kiss.
"Mmm.... at this rate we're not going to make it to dinner," he growled at her, though her wandering hands had felt for herself his hardening arousal under the towel that quickly fell away as she explored.
"But surely there's time for both?" Elise did her best impression of a pretty pout, despite her laughing eyes giving her away.
He lifted her bodily from the tub, ignoring her shriek of surprise and the slosh of water that swept over the bathroom floor, and carried her into the bedroom.
"I thought you were supposed to be tired?" he quizzed her even as her legs wrapped themselves round his waist, pressing herself intimately against him and letting the tip of his now rigid cock sink just an inch into her slippery heat.
She heard him gasp out loud at the effort it took not to slide all the way into her as they fell down together onto the bed, with Max bracing his arms to take his weight so he didn't squash her. "Bad, Elise," he chided her softly.
"Who? Me?" she gasped innocently, even as her hips took on a life of their own and rose upwards to try to entice him into filling her as she so badly needed.
"Not without protection, sweetheart. We can talk later about what you'd prefer to use once we're back in England, but I don't want to get you pregnant until you are ready for it, love."
Even in her needy state, she gasped in amazement at the easy commitment implicit in his words. Ignoring her surprise, with one hand he reached to the bedside table for the condom he'd left there earlier and quickly sheathed himself before taking both her arms in one firm hand and raising them above her head, holding them securely against the pillows.
He'd already felt with his bare cock just how ready she was for him and, seconds later, he thrust deeply into her, feeling her slippery warmth clench him tightly within her as she cried out in pleasure at the sensation of being stretched and filled so completely. He could feel the immediate response of her slick heat tightening and rippling around him, could feel her thrust her hips upwards to meet his demands with her own silent plea.
Placing his hands under her hips, he shifted her pelvis fractionally backwards so that, as he thrust into her, the tip of his cock grazed the tiny bundle of nerves an inch or so below her cervix, rubbing it gently.
"Max, please..." she pleaded with him as she felt herself begin to spiral out of control, "I'm not going to last, I can't..."
"It's okay, love. We can do slow and easy later. Come for me," he whispered in her ear, just as she felt her back arch and her legs lift fractionally as pleasure came over her in waves and she cried out, wanting the pleasure to last forever.
* * *
Hours later she was still flushed from their exertions, as he took her hand from across the table in the bar and stroked it gently.
"You look happy, sweetheart," he commented softly. He'd chosen a bar that he knew served good cocktails and was across the road from the French restaurant he'd picked out for later.
She blushed and nodded. "I feel happier than I have in a long time," she admitted. "I'm glad I've used the time out here to do some thinking, and taking the editor position feels like the right decision for me now. I guess I'm still not exactly sure how things are going to work out, but I feel more settled." She paused. "It's hard to explain, I think it's partly the idea of having a proper home again that's such a big thing for me. Camping out with one of my sisters was always fun when I was back in England, but I've missed having a permanent place to go back to."
"Your sisters are going to be over the moon to have you back."
"Yeah, I know. Though it does mean that I'm going to have Luke, Tom and Alex breathing down my neck at every opportunity!" she joked, rolling her eyes in mock exasperation.
He grinned, "You know you're going to be adding me to your list of what you think are 'over-protective men in your life' once we're both back in England, don't you?"
"I was counting on it!"
"Have you thought, yet, about where you might want to look for an apartment or house once you're back home?"
She shook her head, but after a pause said, "Well, I've thought about it a bit, but I haven't got very far. I'll just have to take some time and look round different areas." She hesitated, "If you've got any suggestions though, you're probably much more familiar with areas than I am. I've been away too long..."
"Sweetheart, why are you looking so unsure suddenly? Of course I'm going to help you find somewhere to live that you're going to be happy. You don't really think I'd let you go looking round places on your own, did you?"
"Well, I thought you might come with me, but I didn't want to presume." Elise sudd
enly felt very silly.
He looked at her seriously. "I thought I'd made my intentions towards you, old-fashioned though it might sound, pretty clear. I love you, Elise. No," he interrupted her, "don't say anything. I know we haven't known each other that long and I don't want to put any pressure on you, at all. But I know my own mind and my feelings towards you. So there's no point hiding them. I love you and I intend to take care of you, and that includes making sure you find somewhere to live. I want you to take however much time you need to make sure this is what you want; I don't want you to rush into anything."
Her eyes glowed with happiness at his words. She knew it should still feel like it was early days in their relationship, and she knew she should be running scared, but for the first time she could remember, she felt completely at ease and secure and knew that she loved Max. She'd find a good time to tell him though, as he clearly didn't want her to reciprocate right now in case she felt pressured because of his own declaration. That said, she was sure her eyes spoke volumes and he couldn't be in any real doubt as to her feelings.
"I'd like for you to help me house hunt," she said. "Maybe I could find something not too far from you, to make things easier?"
"I'd like that." He grinned and then, seeing that her glass was empty, asked her if she wanted another cocktail.
"Hmm...." She was tempted, but common sense reared its head. "I'd better not. I'm still kind of tired, and it'll only go to my head before we eat."
"You don't want a repeat performance of your escapades with Isabelle at Megan's party?" he asked teasingly.
She clapped a hand to her mouth, but didn't quite manage to stifle the groan of embarrassment that emerged. "Oh no. Tom didn't tell you about that?" She was mortified. She knew she and Isabelle had drunk way too much that night and she cringed to think back to how she'd behaved. "How could he? I promise, I'm not usually like that!"
"Relax, Elise. Tom only told me because he was generally worried about you. He thought the loneliness of being away so much was getting to you and you were drowning your sorrows in alcohol when you got back to London."
She sighed. "He might have had a point. I'd just got back from a long spell on a project and it felt like I was seeing civilisation again for the first time." She looked up at him hoping he would understand. "It got completely out of hand and I'm still embarrassed about it. I did apologise to Tom as well as the others, but I hadn't realised he was still so worried about me."
"I think he understands that it was a mistake, sweetheart. Although he did make a couple of comments about putting you over his knee himself, if you ever did anything as reckless again."
Every time she thought she couldn't get more embarrassed, she managed to surprise herself. "Max, I promise you it wasn't the usual 'me' that night. I am a responsible adult, I really am."
"Elise, love, I told you, relax. I was teasing you over not repeating that night here. We've gotten to know each other pretty well out here and I know you're not the heavy drinking, or binge drinking, type. That said," he added, "it's a shame Tom didn't put you over his knee regardless, as you clearly deserved it." He chuckled as she screwed up her eyes at the thought of such humiliation at the hands of her brother-in-law. "But I'm not worried you're going to venture down that path again."
"Maybe I'll change my mind and have that extra drink after all, if the conversation's going to continue like this," she muttered in a mock sulk.
"Too late, love." He laughed as he placed some notes on the table to cover their tab. "Too much talk about your past exploits means our table will be ready across the road, so time to get going." He pulled her to her feet, kissing the pout from her face at the same time.
* * *
"They do great profiteroles here." He smiled at her as the waiter handed them their dessert menus.
"That sounds great," she said to the waiter, not bothering to look at the menu. "I'll try those, in that case."
"I'll just have an espresso," Max commented to the waiter. "Do you want any coffee, sweetheart?"
She shook her head. "No, thanks. I'm fine just finishing this." She indicated the glass of wine he'd persuaded her to order, that she'd been sipping through dinner.
"Okay. Just the profiteroles and the espresso then, thanks," he confirmed their orders to the waiter, who nodded and quickly left them alone again.
Elise looked around the restaurant. For a Friday night, it was relatively quiet. "I'm surprised it's not busier in here," she mused. "The food was terrific."
"It is good here," he agreed. "I've been a few times and I can't remember ever having a bad meal. Although, for Kuvanerk this is busy. There's just not the population here to fill every restaurant every night. They get a steady business here, however, and it's been around for years, so they're definitely doing something right."
"Wow. Not like London then." She paused. "I suppose that's one of the things that initially put me off taking the new job in London; the queues, the constant need for reservations, the general busyness all the time... I mean, I like everything it has to offer as a city, but I didn't necessarily want to have to deal with it all the time."
"Don't worry, sweetheart. We'll find you somewhere to live that's a bit greener. You'll still be within spitting distance of the city, so you can enjoy it on your terms. You can take all the things you like, but you won't have it on your doorstep unless you choose to go to it. Make sense?"
She grinned. "It sounds perfect. I'm not quite sure why I hadn't thought of it. This way I really should be able to get the balance that I've wanted for ages, and I don't have to give up the project work on location."
He smiled over at her, relieved that she was so enthusiastic about the future. In only a couple of weeks she'd changed so much from the woman he had initially met, who had been so uncertain about taking on the new role. She now sounded like she couldn't wait to get started.
"You sound excited, love." He reached out for her hand.
"I am. I think I can really get my teeth into the editor's role. Plus, I was remembering that they'd mentioned potentially running a piece on the wild horses that still roam the Mongolian steppes. That's a piece I'd definitely be interested in taking on myself."
"Mongolia?"
"I know, I know... it's a bit different for me. Although I've spent most of my career working in far-flung places, I've never been to that part of the world. But I was thinking that if I do one or two pieces myself each year, I may as well choose the ones that really excite me."
"Fair enough. I suspect it's the editor's prerogative to have first choice!" he teased her, though she could tell from his eyes that he was pondering something.
"What's the matter?" She frowned at him. "You think it's too presumptuous of me to pick the stuff I want to keep for myself?"
"No, no, not at all," he hurried to reassure her. "I told you before and I meant it. I think it's definitely the editor's prerogative to take the pieces you want. In fact, I'd have thought that, as editor, you can decide which projects to run, so even if they hadn't already talked about the Mongolian piece, you could decide for yourself to do it, if it's in the interests of the magazine."
She brightened. "That's probably right. I'd just thought of the Mongolian project, as it's something they mentioned they'd wanted to do, but the out-going editor hadn't had the chance to investigate it properly." She tipped her head slightly as she looked at him, "So… you're still looking like there's something on your mind?"
"No, not really. I was just thinking over whether I would be able to accompany you to Mongolia or, if I couldn't do it, which one of the guys in my team is best experienced to be there with you."
The profiteroles had just been served and she half choked on her first bite. "You are kidding, right?"
"What do you mean?" He looked genuinely puzzled.
"Max! You can't actually think you're going to have me chaperoned on every project! That's ridiculous; you're out of your mind!"
He frowned. "What's ridiculous about it? It's hard
ly 'chaperoning' anyway. I want to make sure you're safe when you're away working, and I own a security company that specialises in that. Ninety-nine per cent of the time I'll come with you myself – I can easily work it into my schedule and it could be useful for my business as I'll use the trips to meet with local contacts and make some courtesy calls on the ground – but I want to have a backup in case, for any reason, I can't be there. I'd trust each man on my team with my life."
Carefully, she put her spoon down and tried hard to keep her rising temper under control. "Max, I've appreciated the fact you've been out here with me because you know the environment. I could never have completed the assignment, in this short time, without your knowledge, I know that. But I don't need security with me everywhere I go. In somewhere like Mongolia I'll just hire a local guide, the same as I would have done here if you hadn't been with me."
"You mean like you did in Kenya?"
She flushed, knowing she'd confided in him that the guides in Kenya had often been left behind. "That's unfair, Max. I've told you, I'm not a bloody child. I know what I'm doing."
"Don't use that language with me, Elise," he said coldly.
"I'll use what fucking language I want!" Elise's temper began to unravel and she glared at him across the table. "I will not be treated like a child. You're supposed to be my lover, not a substitute parent or brother, or has all this just been about taking your promise to my brothers to 'protect me' a step too far?" Elise knew her mouth was running away with her, and she didn't even believe what she was saying, but she couldn't stop herself.
He pushed his now empty espresso cup to one side and stood up, placing some bills on the table to cover their check. "You know that couldn't be further from the truth. Let's go, Elise. This isn't the place to have this conversation and you know it."
"No." She planted her arms firmly on the table. "I'll see my own way back to the hotel; unless you think I need a chaperone to walk down the street, too?" Resentment rang through her voice.
"Elise," he warned and stepped around the table to place a hand firmly on her shoulder before bending down and saying softly in her ear, "Unless you want me to put you straight over my knee here and now... and don't even think that I won't do it... you'll get up and leave the restaurant with me now. The staff and diners in here really don't need to witness this outburst."
Elise's Story: A Bentley Sisters Novel Page 10