Desire

by Simone Sowood

  When I first told her to go on top, I wasn’t sure she’d be able to do it. But here she is, riding me like I’ve never been ridden before.

  Wrapped in her tight walls, my cock is a tingling mess, and I focus on making this moment last. For her, as well as me.

  Letting go of her hips, I run my hands up her soft skin and lightly cup her heavy tits. Holding my hands steady, her tits move and bounce against them, her hard nipples poking into my palms.

  Our eyes connect, and I hold her gaze as I thrust my hips underneath her. A current moves between us, and shudders pulse across my skin.

  Grace’s eyelids start to flutter and her head falls backwards. Sliding my hand down the front of her body, I find her clit with my fingers. I roll and pinch it between my fingers, each movement forcing a moan from Grace’s lips.

  She freezes, and collapses forward on to me. Her high-pitched squeal rings through the room as she orgasms.

  I grip her hips and drive my cock through her spasming walls. My balls pull tight against me, full of tingling heat. I thrust again, and my dick shoots into the condom.

  The shudder that had been coating my skin merge into one giant shudder that rolls over me, forcing a groan from my throat. I sink into the bed as I climax.

  We lie, breathless, Grace’s body draped over mine. I stroke her hair and her back as we recover.

  “Are you okay?” I ask.

  Grace doesn’t answer right away. Her chest heaves, and she pushes herself up onto her elbows.

  Looking into my eyes, she says, “I’m a lot better than okay.”

  “Me too,” I say, and pull her head down and kiss her.

  “I’m really glad you came here this morning.”

  Fuck, she has no idea how glad I am that I came here this morning.

  “I couldn’t leave things the way they were last night. You need to understand how much you mean to me,” I say.

  “I think I do, now. I wish I hadn’t left last night. It was just Shawna, and the escorts… the situation wasn’t clear.”

  “It was always clear to me, but I can see how it wasn’t for you.”

  “Should we go back to your apartment now?”

  “Actually, this is kind of fun. Let’s hang out here today.”

  We fall into a silence, and I hold her tight against me.

  After several minutes Grace says, “It’s kind of sore down there.” Her voice is quiet, bashful.

  Hopefully it wasn’t too sore. Maybe we went too crazy for her first time.

  “Stay here,” I say, rolling us over so that I’m on top of her.

  I give her a quick kiss on her forehead and pull out. In the bathroom, I take two washcloths and soak them, one with warm water, one with cold.

  Returning to Grace, I use the warm cloth to clean her pussy.

  “Leave this one between your legs,” I say, laying the other cold cloth over her mound.

  “Thank you.”

  “Does it help?” I ask, getting back on the bed.

  “Actually, it does.”

  “Do you want anything? Ibuprofen?”

  “No. Maybe.”

  I call room service and order painkillers and breakfast. We lie in bed chatting until it arrives. When there is a knock at the door, I pull a robe on and answer it.

  The uniformed man carries the tray with our breakfast to the dining table. I tip him generously and curse the fact that I have to go in search of my brother tomorrow. I’d much rather hole up with Grace at The Plaza for the foreseeable future.

  But the sale opportunity with Sun Toys has a deadline. The only way I’m going to get George to agree to sell is if I see him in person.

  “Baby, come get breakfast,” I say, standing in the bedroom doorway.

  Grace stands, letting the cold cloth fall to the floor. She pulls on a fluffy robe and walks to me. I draw her against me and hold her in my arms for a moment. My body warms at her nearness and I fill my lungs with her scent.

  This is where she belongs. With me.

  We sit at the table and eat our feast. Bacon, eggs, toast, croissants and fruit followed by coffee and orange juice. Neither of us are particularly hungry, but we keep eating and keep talking.

  “Unfortunately, I have to go find my brother tomorrow. I’m not even sure where in the world he is. Yesterday, I thought it was Australia, but I hear today that it might be India or Nepal,” I say, even more angry at George than I was before.

  It’s like he’s determined to ruin my life so he can have fun with his.

  “Already?”

  “Unfortunately.”

  “I guess you did only promise a weekend.”

  “Baby, when I get done with my brother and sell my company, everything is going to be about you.”

  “You’re going to sell your company?” she asks, her brow furrowed.

  I nod my head, realizing I haven’t told her before. “I want out.”

  “You’re serious?”

  “One hundred percent. I’ve had enough. I want freedom to do what I want instead of having a sixty-hour-work-week job.”

  “You don’t care about the prestige? Everyone in the industry worships you.”

  “Prestige is overrated. I want to enjoy my life while I can.” And right now, I want to enjoy Grace, which both my brother and work are preventing me from doing.

  Somehow breakfast turns into lunch, and lunch turns into dinner. We spend most of the day sitting at the dining table and cuddling on the sofa. The conversation flows easily, and the day is over far too quickly.

  It’s late. We are on the sofa, Grace’s body tight against mine and my arms wrapped around her.

  Like so many times today, my dick twitches, aching to get back inside her. But she’s still sore, so I content myself with her nearness.

  Once again, I curse my fucking brother for pulling me away from her. I’d better find him fast so that I can get back and see Grace again. And fuck her.

  “I had a great day,” Grace says as we climb into the bed. She’s only wearing a pair of panties and I flick my dick to get it under control.

  “Me too,” I say, pulling her tight against me as we lie surrounded by throw pillows.

  I drift into an easy, restful sleep. Something that hasn’t happened in recent memory. Normally, the stress keeps me awake at night, and when I do sleep, it’s fitful and full of nightmares.

  ***

  The plane ride back to the West Coast is somber, neither of us knowing when we’ll see each other again. My hope is one week.

  One week to convince my selfish brother to sell. My heart is heavy, knowing how difficult a task this is going to be.

  “Home,” Grace says, unlocking her door.

  “I wish I could stay, but I have to get on that stupid plane again and go God knows where to find my brother.”

  “I know. I understand,” she says, giving me a weak smile.

  “Don’t worry, you’re mine now. I’ll be back as fast as I can, and then you won’t be able to get rid of me.”

  Pulling her tight, I close my mouth over hers in a deep kiss. My dick stiffens and my phone beeps. I break the kiss, and release Grace before I’m unable to stop.

  “Have a good trip,” she says meekly.

  I chuckle, thinking how it’s going to be the exact opposite of a good trip. Grace opens her door and closes it behind her.

  Pulling out my phone, I read the message. It’s from the investigator I hired to track down my brother.

  George is in Bhutan. Never heard of that country? Neither had I. Bring your hiking boots and forget about Wi-Fi.

  Chapter 20

  Grace

  “Just when I thought my life couldn’t get any worse,” I say, choking back tears.

  “It’ll be fine,” Anna says, draping her arm around my shoulders and squeezing.

  We’re sitting on our sofa in the middle of the afternoon on a Wednesday. Shawna let everyone go home from work early.

  Right after she told us all that the company is out o
f money. Right after she told everyone it’s all because I failed in my mission.

  We wouldn’t be in this position if Grace had been able to convince Leo Newbury to license us his brands last month. Shawna’s words ring over and over in my ears.

  Everyone glared at me, blaming me for their loss of income. My cheeks burned red with shame. The shame of a failed prostitute.

  If only they knew how much worse my situation is than theirs.

  Shawna wants us all to carry on working in exchange for company shares. But company shares don’t put food in my mouth today.

  “How can you say it will be fine? I have no paying job, and I’m pregnant.” I burst into tears as I say the word pregnant.

  I still can’t believe it.

  I’ve had sex exactly once in my life, and I’m pregnant.

  “Shh,” Anna rubs my back, and I rest my head on her shoulder.

  “I knew I shouldn’t have sex. Why? Why did I do it? I stayed a virgin so long so this wouldn’t happen. All I cared about was making something of myself, but here I am, just like my mother and sister. Pregnant, jobless and no sign of a man. I might as well pack my bags and move home right now,” I say through blubbering tears.

  “Honey, you don’t have to give up. You know who the father is, he will have to pay child support. And I’ve got to think child support from a billionaire is a generous amount of money to live on.”

  My tears turn into wails. I haven’t heard from Leo in three weeks. In his last text message, he said he was in Kathmandu. I didn’t even know that was a real place.

  Or if he’s really there.

  Maybe it’s just something he said to blow me off and I was nothing but a prostitute to him after all.

  I very, very stupidly texted him as soon as I took the pregnancy test to tell him I’m pregnant. Anna told me not to, but I did anyway.

  And maybe ten more times as well.

  My texts got very accusatory, saying I’m nothing to him but an escort, even though I’m going to be the mother to his child. That he doesn’t care about me or the baby.

  I possibly told him I hated him.

  And I think I do.

  The weekend in New York was the best weekend of my life. I experienced feelings that weekend I didn’t even know existed. Like I’d found my soulmate. I walked around on a cloud for a week.

  Leo told me he’d be back for me in a week. But after a week, every day that passed without hearing from him brought me closer and closer back to reality.

  After a late period, I took the pregnancy test. And cried. And cried.

  Thank God for Anna. She’s hugged me and let me cry on her shoulder several times a day. I don’t know what I’d do without her.

  “I’m just going to move home to Tennessee and live with my mom and sister. I don’t know why I thought I could escape my fate. All I did was delay it by a few years. So I’m pregnant at twenty-three instead of fifteen. All I did was run from my destiny for eight years, but it caught me in the end.”

  Anna grabs my shoulders and pulls my body in front of her. Her eyes stare at me, and she says, “It is not the same as them. You know who the father is. Does your mother know who the fathers of her children are? No. Does your sister? No. So that’s a big difference right there.”

  “It doesn’t matter if you know the father is if he won’t even acknowledge your existence.”

  “He’s going to have to when you file a paternity suit.”

  “With what money? I don’t have a paying job, remember?”

  Anna sighs, and flops back into the couch.

  “I don’t know if it’s worth working for shares, or not,” she says.

  “How much money is there? I mean, how is Shawna going to pay rent? Or any costs? If I were you, I’d stay while you find another job, just so there isn’t a gap on your resume.”

  “And you? What are you going to do?” Anna asks.

  “Sleep in every day. What’s the point of me even getting out of bed in the morning?”

  “You’re going to be a mommy, that’s something to get out of bed for.”

  I start crying all over again. It’s amazing I have any tears left. Snot bubbles down my lip, and I grab a Kleenex and blow my nose. It’s the last in the box.

  “I’m going to make you a cup of chamomile tea.”

  Anna stands and walks to our kitchen. I pick up my phone and check for any messages from Leo. Something I’ve done a zillion times a day for the few weeks. Nothing. Of course.

  In my heart, I know I’ll never hear from him again. That I was merely an escort after all.

  You used me and ruined my life. I hate you.

  I hit send and toss the phone onto the coffee table. I hate myself just as much, for getting into the situation in the first place.

  I don’t even understand how it happened since we used a condom.

  Whatever.

  I wish I were still a virgin.

  “Here you go,” Anna says, setting the mug of tea in front of me.

  “Thank you,” I say, managing to smile. “I don’t know where I’d be without you these past few weeks. I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”

  “Oh honey, don’t be silly. You are my best friend, of course I’m going to do everything I can to help you. You can live here as long as you want, and don’t even worry about rent.”

  “You won’t say that when there’s a screaming baby at three in the morning.”

  “Are you kidding me? I’m dying to have a baby. I’m jealous of you.”

  “Yeah, but you have a serious boyfriend who would marry you,” I say, shrugging.

  “In my dreams. Tyson doesn’t seem interested in getting married, no matter how many hints I drop.”

  “Well, I’m sure he’d marry you if you were pregnant.”

  “Exactly. For sure he would, that’s why I’m so jealous of you. A baby might be the only way to get him to propose.”

  “I don’t even care about marriage. All I want is for Leo to respond to my texts. I grew up without knowing my father. I don’t want that for my baby.”

  “Like I said, he’ll have to acknowledge the baby when you file a paternity suit. Don’t worry about money, lawyers will be lining up to get a piece of a billionaire.”

  “I just don’t know why it has to be that way. Why is he treating me like this? He tricked me into thinking he really cared about me and that I was special to him,” my voice descends into an incomprehensible, sobbing mess. Now I know those were all lies to take my virginity.

  But I can’t change the past. Now I have to figure out what to do with my future.

  A future that most definitely does not include Leo.

  Chapter 21

  Leo

  I never knew Shangri-La was a real place. But here I am sitting in the middle of it.

  The beautiful, untouched wild of the Himalayas in Bhutan surrounds me. The entire country is a paradise.

  A paradise seemingly stuck in time. It’s been weeks since I’ve had Wi-Fi or even cell coverage. Everything here is old school. Children even play with old-fashioned toys, not electronics.

  And study after study shows they are the happiest people on Earth.

  Maybe that’s not so hard when you live in the middle of such natural beauty.

  I only wish Grace was here with me.

  It’s been just over three weeks since I dropped her off at her apartment. We were able to text and phone while I was in Kathmandu, Nepal. Flying into Bhutan is so treacherous, I had to fly the one commercial airline that makes the trip.

  But as soon as I landed in Bhutan in search of my brother, I quickly got out of the last remnants of civilization and cell phone coverage.

  My private investigator found him at a meditation retreat at a monastery halfway up the mountain in the middle of absolute nowhere.

  And I mean nowhere.

  There’s somewhere like Buttfuck, Montana, and then there’s this place. No roads, no communication. A five-day hike up a mountain to g
et here.

  And George’s first words to me when he saw me? “Holy shit, you must be desperate to sell.”

  I told him to fuck off. He’s lucky I didn’t punch him.

  I’ve spent the past two weeks making every argument I could to convince him to sell. The asshole still isn’t budging.

  So much for his meditation session on family.

  The longer I stay here, the harder my body aches for Grace. I regularly imagine her underneath me, moaning and whimpering as I drive into her. At least once a day I have my cock in my hand, thinking of her.

  There’s not much else to do halfway up a mountain. I can’t wait to get back to her.

  But I can’t leave until I convince George to sell. And he isn’t budging.

  As calm as my surroundings make me, George makes my blood boil. Just thinking about him makes my back muscles tense.

  I stand up from my perch on a rocky crop and move to the ancient courtyard. George is sitting in the middle of it in the lotus position, wearing an orange robe.

  A soccer ball rests near the doorway, and I kick it as hard as I can. I aim at his head, but the ball connects with his back.

  George jolts up and glares at me.

  “Fuck you, asshole,” he spits.

  “There is only one asshole here and I’m looking at him.” My fists ball and I fight to relax them before I beat his head in.

  “Why are you even here? You will never change my mind. Go home.” George throws the ball at me and I sidestep to avoid it hitting me square in the chest.

  I kick the ball again, aiming at his body. The ball flies over the ancient cobblestones, narrowly missing him. George starts to get up.

  “You think I want to be here? With you?”

  “I think you want to be back in New York, running the family company. How are you even here so long? Who’s taking care of the company?”

  “I don’t even give a fuck anymore. I’m done with running the company. I’ll let some asshole run it into the ground. If bankruptcy is what it takes to get this company out of my life, then so be it.”

  “You wouldn’t,” George grunts as he kicks the ball at me.