by Sherie Keys
A million dollars. Falling in love. The thoughts circled through her mind again and again, as she tried not to think of them, and focus on a fun and exciting night out on the town in Lisbon, dancing and drinking and eating with her magnificent Latin lover.
Chapter5
True to his word, Adrian helped Delphine pack up her things on the last day of her stay at the hotel, and he drove her in his own car out of Lisbon. They had spent her last two days there exploring a great deal of it, from the public beaches to museums to fascinating neighborhoods, but the time had come for her to check out of her wonderful suite. Instead of boarding the plane as was her plan, she rode with her lover out of the city limits to his home.
He had told her very little about it at all, and so the first sight of it, from the minute he turned off of the highway and drove around a small hill covered in tall, leafy trees, was amazement. The driveway wound down the side of a forested hill and when the trees and bushes finally cleared, she gaped at the stunning mansion that stood before them like a jewel, with the sea stretched out forever behind it.
The home was three stories tall, though part of the lowest story opened up to the beach below it and out toward the back of the house. There were beautiful gardens on both sides of the house, which were meticulously cared for. In front of the house was an exquisite statue carved of marble and standing in the center of a tall fountain, surrounded by flowering bushes.
“I thought that I was dreaming all week in Lisbon. I was pretty sure of it before, but there was some doubt. Now I know there’s no doubt. There’s no way this is real, or that any of this is really happening to me. It’s not possible,” she murmured, stepping from the car.
Adrian chuckled and picked up her bag, walking around the car to take her hand. “It’s real.” He kissed her cheek and walked with her to the front door. Opening it, they stepped together into a big foyer, and she looked all around her in awe, trying to take it all in.
His home wasn’t necessarily opulent, as much as it was refined. There was an elegance about it that gave it a beautiful look without making it seem overdone or gaudy. She felt comfortable, but there was no question that the owner of the home had invested some considerable money into it.
“My god… this is… this is…” she trailed off a moment as she looked at it all. “This is amazing.”
He smiled and nodded. “I’m glad you like it. It’s home for you this week, so I want you to be comfortable. Go anywhere you like, anytime you like.”
“Thank you.” She smiled back at him.
“Your room is upstairs. This way.” He led her up a wide, arcing staircase that spiraled up to the second floor. They walked down the hallway to the right of the landing, and almost at the end of it, he turned left, entering a large bedroom that was bigger and more luxurious than her suite at the hotel.
Delphine stopped and stood in the middle of the great room, looking about at it. There was a massive bed set at an angle into one corner. There was a set of light wooden furniture; nightstands, a dresser, a table and chair, a wardrobe, and a desk that graced the room and yet didn’t seem to fill it at all. A walk-in closet was off to one side, and there was a reading nook with a small library in the far corner of the room by the windows. Nearby the nook was a fireplace made of stone with a terra cotta tile area just before it. The carpet was light-colored, almost the same shade as the sandy beach that was outside. There was a private bathroom with a stone walled shower and a sunken jetted bathtub. She thought of their night in the bathtub at the hotel and felt her body grow warm.
There were skylights in the ceiling and all the west facing wall there were floor to ceiling windows and glass doors that opened up onto a big balcony overlooking the ocean. The windows had sheer white curtains draped at their sides, but they were all open, and the room was filled with sunlight.
“This is the prettiest bedroom I’ve ever seen,” she said quietly, walking around and gazing at it.
“It’s yours for the week,” Adrian said, going to her and standing behind her. He slipped his hands around her waist and pulled her up against him, her back to his chest. Leaning over her shoulder he nuzzled her neck and her ear. “Unless I win the wager, and then you can stay here as long as you like.”
His breath was warm on her skin and she let her head fall back and her eyes close slightly. “You’re not going to make this easy, are you?” she asked in a throaty voice. She felt his hand close gently over her breast, massaging her nipple through her blouse.
“Not even a little,” he whispered, kissing her earlobe and trailing his tongue and lips down the side of her neck.
She moaned softly, and he squeezed her breast once before letting her go. “I should show you the rest of the house before we’re both too distracted to care about it.”
With a soft laugh, she opened her eyes and made herself come back to some semblance of reality. The house, she thought. Yes, they must see the house. She deposited her bags, and he set her suitcase down near the dresser.
“You can unpack later,” he said, holding his hand out to her.
She took it and walked out into the hallway with him. Stopping for a moment, she looked up and down the hall. “Where is your room?” she asked with a teasing eye, giving him a sly smile.
He smiled widely back at her. “Would you like to see it?” he asked, raising a brow. She nodded. He walked with her a short distance to the end of the hall where a set of double doors stood closed. Opening them, he walked into it with her and stopped by the door, letting go of her hand and watching her as she came into the room and took it in.
His room was bigger than hers, taking up all of that side of the house on that floor. There were windows all around it, skylights as there were in her room, and the same light carpet and open feel to it. All of the wooden furniture in the room was dark; mahogany. He had a two room walk in closet and a bigger bathroom than the room she was in. There was beautiful artwork on the walls, and there was a fireplace between his bed and a reading nook near the windows facing the ocean, similar to the one in her room, though his was much bigger. The doors at that end of the room opened up to the balcony, and when she walked to them, she could see that it was the same balcony that her doors opened up to. It made her smile.
“This is really lovely,” she said quietly, turning and gazing at his bed for a moment. It was enormous, with four posts rising up about twelve feet. Draped from the posts was a sheer material that also canopied the top of the bed. The headboard was large, carved mahogany and against it rested a thick stack of pillows.
“Do you like it?” he asked, studying her closely.
“I do. I love it,” she replied, turning her face from the bed to look at him. His gaze was intense as he watched her.
“I’m glad to hear that,” he said in a level tone, walking slowly toward her. Her heart began to pound in her chest the nearer he got to her, and when he reached her, she wondered if he could hear it. Lifting his hand, he held her face in it and leaned forward, closing his mouth over hers. Moving his lips slowly and sensually against hers, he kissed her.
They tasted one another deeply and she felt her body catch fire as his hands moved to her waist and her back, pulling her firmly against him. Her breath grew short and she felt a need for him growing in her core.
“Adrian…” she whispered his name against his lips, and she felt his groin hard against her. A soft moan escaped her, and at the sound of it, he matched it with own. All at once, he let go of her, gasping and stepping back from her, trying to catch his breath as his electric blue eyes locked on her.
“We should go see the house,” he said as if he was forcing himself to do so.
“Should we?” she asked, not wanting him to stop.
“Yes.” He made himself look away and then turned and walked back through his bedroom door to the hall, closing one of the doors behind him. She gave a swift look over her shoulder at his bed and wondered when she would feel him inside of her there. Then, she walked out of the
room and tried to slow her heartbeat down.
Adrian showed her some of the other rooms on that level, though not all of them. Several were more bedrooms, there was a study and a small kitchenette. She was surprised to see it up on the third floor. It was the size of her kitchen in her brownstone back in Manhattan.
“I’ve never seen a house with a kitchen upstairs,” she said with a light laugh.
“Well, I am sometimes in the study or in my reading nook, and I want a pot of tea or a quick snack. I like the convenience of this. My chef keeps a few trays of food up here, but mostly it’s good for beverages. I thought someday that if I had children, it would be useful for things like making bottles nearer to the nursery, but that hasn’t happened yet.” He smiled thoughtfully and walked from the room.
Delphine felt a knot form in her stomach. Children. The subject had never come up between them in their conversations. She hadn’t admitted to him that that was why she had broken up with her boyfriend and gone to Portugal in the first place. She hadn’t asked him if he wanted children. Their conversations had been much more focused on history, art, culture, food, music, dancing, romance, and the burning hot sex that seemed to leave them both completely satisfied and yet insatiably hungry for more at the same time.
Serious subjects like relationships, marriage, and children had not come up, and hearing him say something about them was a gut check for her. Swallowing hard, she pushed the heartbreaking subject away and followed him out of the kitchenette without saying a word about it. She did her best to turn her attention back to the house and forget that he had even said anything about it.
Together, they went downstairs to the main level, and she saw the drawing room, another very large library, a study come office for him, a music room where she was surprised to learn that he played several instruments, and a dining room where twenty people could easily enjoy a feast.
From the dining room, they went into the kitchen, and she was surprised again. “This is a massive kitchen!” She exclaimed, staring at it. It was done in an Italian design, with wide deep sinks, a stove grill and oven set that was three times the size of hers at her home, and an island in the middle with another sink and a cooktop.
“It is big, but I use all of it. I love to cook, and I have a lot of family and friends. We celebrate often, usually coming together for a feast, and this is the perfect place to do that.” He grinned as he walked around the room, showing it to her.
“But I thought you said you have a chef?” she asked in slight confusion.
“I do. He cooks for me when I’m busy, and business sometimes makes my schedule a little tight, but I don’t let that stop me from cooking in here several times a week. I really love it. It’s a way for me to be creative and take good care of myself, to have an outlet and indulgence, and I enjoy doing it.” He looked a little different to her then, as he stood there in the massive kitchen, and she could see that it was his canvas and that he was some kind of artist there. It was the heart of his home, and it was an inner side of him that he was sharing with her and introducing her to.
“I love it. I think it’s wonderful that you cook. What do you like to cook?” she asked, surprised by him.
“Oh, everything from homemade pastas to meats and salads, and sometimes fanciful desserts. It’s a lot of fun, and everyone likes my cooking, or at least that’s what they tell me when they eat it.” He laughed and then reached his hand out to her and she took it.
“I’ll be cooking for you while you’re here. You can tell me yourself what you think.” He led her out of the kitchen then, down a hall, and into a room with an Olympic sized pool, one end shallow and the other a diving end. It was surrounded by glass doors, and beyond it was a large encased solarium, filled with plants and flowers of many kinds.
He took her through the solarium, and then out of the house to the rear grounds. There was a small hill, thick with grass, that sloped downward toward the beach. The beach seemed to stretch on for miles. To the left was a long dock and at the end of the dock was a boathouse. Secured to the dock was a tall sail boat.
“This is so beautiful.” She sighed, crossing her arms over her chest as she gazed at it all. “Does anyone ever come to this beach?”
“No. It’s really a private beach, I guess. There isn’t access to it unless one goes through my property or gets to it by boat, and boats do go past sometimes, but no one has ever stopped here. It’s just the wide open Atlantic Ocean and me.” He gave her a smile. “Do you like the sea?”
Delphine drew in a big breath of the salty air and let it out slowly, her eyes steady on the waves rolling in and the horizon far off in the distance. “I love the sea. I never tire of it.”
He nodded. “I’m the same. There’s saltwater in my veins.”
She laughed and agreed with him. “You have an incredible home.” She made herself turn away from the ocean and look back up at the house.
He raised an eyebrow. “You haven’t seen it all yet! Come along, there’s more still.”
“More?” she asked incredulously.
“Downstairs.” He took her hand, and they walked past the hill down to the lowest level of the house, going into a door that led into a small kitchen.
“I’m surprised. I shouldn’t be, but I am.” She laughed, looking at the room.
“Well, it’s important in those times when I’m entertaining down here.” He led her from the small kitchen into a bar and recreation room where there was a pool table and several different games set about the room. Off of the recreation room, they walked into a theatre, and she was shocked.
“You have your own theatre room?” She stared. There were several comfortable seats set near each other, as well as one L shaped sofa that was big enough for anyone to stretch out on or even sleep on.
“I do. I love movies. I don’t mind watching them down here on my own, but I sometimes have people over to watch them with me. It’s great fun. Then, we have the kitchen and the bar for whatever anyone might like to eat or drink.” He grinned at her, and his blue eyes shone.
She shook her head. “I can’t understand why you ever leave this place, except for business, I guess. Though Lisbon would be calling me regularly if it was my house.” She laughed.
“I do like to go into the city often. There’s always something happening, and I like that. Also, I have many friends there who I visit.” He slid his hands down into his pants pockets and regarded her. “So, what would you like to do first? Swim? Play the piano? Read in the library? Watch a movie?”
She smiled. “I’d love to walk along the beach with you,” she told him, thinking that a week there in his home was going to be pure paradise.
“Then a walk on the beach it shall be,” he told her.
They went back outside, and she pulled her shoes off, loving the feel of the sugar-soft sand against her feet. They both walked barefoot, him with his pants cuffs rolled up, her in her dress. She let some of the small waves wash over her toes and ankles, and they went side by side for a long way with nothing but ocean to one side and cliffs to the other. Finally, they turned back and went to the house again.
Adrian told her they had an errand to run, and he put her in his car again and drove down the road a short way to a farmer’s market. There they shopped together, selecting the best fruits and vegetables, as well as some meats, and a chocolate cake.
When they returned to the house, they took their purchases to the kitchen, and she helped him cut, chop, slice, and season as they cooked together. He turned on some music that played over speakers in the kitchen and she was surprised that she knew some of the songs. They sang together as they prepared the meal, and while it was cooking he took her in his arms and danced slowly with her over the kitchen tiles.
“This is like heaven,” he said quietly in her ear, and he leaned his head against hers. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to feel what he was feeling.
“You’re right, it really is,” she answered, discovering just how much she love
d it. She hadn’t had intimate moments quite as sweet as that one with Mike when she was with him in New York. They had gone out or they had stayed in, they had walked through Central Park or gone to see movies in a theatre. They had gone to concerts and only once he agreed to go to a Broadway show with her, but they hadn’t had simple, sweet, beautiful moments together, not like she was having with Adrian in his kitchen, just dancing and cooking dinner.
They ate in the kitchen at a table for four, rather than in the large dining room. Adrian pointed out that it was cozier, and she knew that he was right. With dinner done, they loaded the dishwasher together and then enjoyed a glass of wine on the patio out overlooking the ocean.
The sun began to set, and the sky blazed with color as the day drifted into the sea and the stars began to shine. With their wine gone, he took their glasses into the kitchen and then turned to look at her. She was watching him with a smile on her face.