by Jessie Cooke
“Anniversary, eh? Doesn’t that require a commitment on each end? Are we there yet?”
Andrew inhaled sharply as the bartender set the martini down before him. “Well, it’s been two months of crazy, wonderful, awesomeness,” Andrew began. “I thought I’d have a martini before I launched into this discussion, but . . . well, it’s happening already, I guess. What do you think?”
Luke laughed. “Are you asking me to ‘go steady’?” he said, his fingers marking the air in front of him.
“If that’s what you call it,” Andrew answered and took a large gulp from his drink. “I guess I was calling something more like ‘being exclusive’ or ‘being boyfriends’.”
At that moment, Luke swore he heard a familiar laugh from his past. “Bella?” he mumbled with a frown.
“What?” Andrew asked confused.
Luke shook his head. “I could have sworn I heard Bella’s laugh.”
Andrew looked hurt. “She always enters the picture somehow,” he said. “Even though she isn’t here. I ask you something really important, something that you know is hard to even discuss, and the conversation turns to Bella. What is it about her, Luke? Are we ever going to be free of her?”
Luke put his hand on Andrew’s arm affectionately. “You know my story, Andrew. I’m not telling you ‘no’ but I’m not sure you’re okay with my ‘yes’.”
“What does your ‘yes’ mean?” Andrew asked, his voice a small whine.
“A ‘yes’ from me would mean strings, you know that. I cannot be completely myself if I can’t be with Bella too.”
“Then that’s not exclusive,” the whine returned.
“But it is in a way,” Luke responded. “It’s hard to explain, Andrew, but I need you both to be fulfilled. I love Bella, but I love you too. She fulfills my desire for a female partner; you, for a male. It’s like sometimes being in the mood for Chinese or Italian but loving both. Apples and oranges, the two of you, but I want and need you both.” He touched the side of Andrew’s face softly. “At the risk of sounding cliché, you both complete me.”
Suddenly, as if conjured by the discussion of her, Luke saw Bella following a host. She was walking arm in arm with Reece Hamilton, and they curved around the circular bar on the way into the depths of the restaurant.
“She’s here,” Luke said, his eyes full of amazement and following their every move.
Andrew twisted on his bar stool, followed Luke’s eyes, and found the pretty girl in the blue and black dress, her smile bright enough to light the entire restaurant as she hung onto the arm of an attractive, dark-haired man.
“She’s with someone,” Andrew said. “And from where I sit, it looks to me like she doesn’t need you like you need her,” Andrew said, unable to hide the trace of hope and joy from his voice. “It looks to me like she isn’t thinking of you at all.” He took a finger and moved Luke’s chin so that he would meet his eyes. “Which means we can be ‘we’ without Bella.”
Luke shook his head. “I don’t understand what she’s doing here, and why she’s with him. It’s most likely just business.” His lips pursed, and Andrew saw his eyes cloud over with hurt. He put his hand on Luke’s knee.
“Forget her,” he said. Luke looked at him questioningly. “Just for tonight, forget her. Be here. With me. Just the two of us. No one else.”
Luke sighed, gave Andrew a weak smile, and rolled his neck to release the tension. “No one else,” he said, and then he drained his martini and called for another.
Bella couldn’t eat another bite. The meal had been perfectly planned, and the chefs had even come to the table to see how they enjoyed themselves. Reece had taken care of every detail she could have ever thought of, and she sat back against the high-backed chair in a complete and utter state of bliss.
“Are you going to stay awake through the ride home?” Reece asked her, the dim lighting of the restaurant reflecting in his eyes.
“I can’t promise you that,” she answered. “But I will be happy for you to wake me when you get me there.” She leaned forward across the table. “I have something to show you then,” she whispered conspiratorially.
Reece leaned forward, almost meeting her head to head. “If it’s what I think it is, I’d say we need to leave sooner rather than later. I’ve been living with the conjured images long enough.”
In her mind’s eye, Bella could see the black garter connected to the black lace-topped stockings underneath her dress. She was already imagining Reece removing them slowly and seductively while she found other occupations for his mouth nearby. The hunger rose in her again, and she took the napkin out of her lap and set it to the side on the table.
“Let’s go home,” she suggested.
The valet seemed to take forever bringing the car around, and Bella couldn’t stop the movie reel of possibilities from running in her head. Once she’d committed to the big reveal back at the apartment, her head had conjured up several scenes that kept playing through, and her body was primed and ready for Reece’s touch and attention.
Once in the Boxster, Reece looked over at her and winked. “Ready to get this show on the road?” he asked.
She answered by sliding her hand into his lap and deep into his crotch. “I’m more ready than you know,” she said, and she could feel he was getting readier by the second.
“Don’t stop,” she said as he accelerated as soon as he could.
“You either,” he replied, to which she unzipped the front of his pants and reached inside. Silk boxers tickled her fingertips as she rubbed the hardened area just under her palm. Reece elicited a gathered sigh when he felt her fingers brushing through the flap in the silk fabric.
“I’ve missed you,” he said.
“I can tell,” she answered, and she leaned over the gear shift to nibble on his right ear, licking his lobe lightly.
“Am I making it hard for you?” she asked, meaning the driving and concentrating.
“Just the sight of you makes me hard,” Reece bantered. “But isn’t that what you intended all along anyway?” he asked, sliding a glance over at her.
She laughed. “You’re such a juvenile,” she said.
“Hardly, and you know it,” he replied, “first hand.”
Her thumb and forefinger circled down the length of Reece as he turned into the apartment’s parking garage and up to the top floor for the private garages. He hit the button on his keychain and the garage door opened. Impatiently, he waited for the door to rise enough for him to pull the car in. Finally, he sped into it and came to an abrupt halt, throwing the car into ‘Park’.
Bella had unfastened her seatbelt with speed and dexterity, and now she was leaning towards him, her mouth seeking his hungrily. She thrust her tongue between his lips and coaxed a soft moan from him, her hands still working beneath the silk boxers.
“Slide the seat back,” she instructed.
“What?”
“Slide the seat back,” she repeated. “Away from the steering wheel.”
Reece hit the button on the side of the car seat, and it began slowly moving backwards on the small motor. Bella lowered her mouth to where her hand had been, her lips circling where her fingers had previously heated him up.
“Oh, god,” Reece uttered as he felt her tongue sliding up and down against him. His hands entwined and curled into her hair with the pleasure she was giving him, and a part of him wanted to go deeper, but he held back. Then, as if she knew what he was thinking, she drew him deeper into her throat. She slid her lips and tongue the length of him, leaving him uncovered and wanting more. She licked the very tip of him, and the sensation sent electric heat throughout the length of him and into his pelvis. Reece felt his muscles clench, his fingers tighten in her hair as he felt himself traveling the length of her mouth and throat again.
He threw his head back against the headrest and allowed himself the moment. Her slight suction made him see stars, and he wanted to be inside of her more than he’d ever wanted anything in his li
fe. Bella’s tongue began a slow, sensual circle around him and traveling the length of him, and he knew that within seconds, this could all be over for him, but he wanted to give her more.
“We need to take this inside,” Reece said, his voice thick with the difficulty of stopping.
“Why? Why don’t you just enjoy?” Bella said as she raised her head.
“Because I’m not gonna last much longer, love, and I want to be able to take care of you all night if you want me to,” he replied.
Bella daintily wiped the corners of her mouth and smoothed her hair. “Then I guess we’d better get ourselves a little more space, huh?”
He pulled her to him, his hand sliding to the lace underneath her skirt. “And you’ve got a little show-and-tell for me too, remember? I don’t want to miss out on that.”
He could feel how damp she was already, and that only served to harden his resolve. He zipped up his pants, exited the car, and walked around to open the door for Bella. Offering her his hand, he pulled her out of the Boxter, then shoved her up against the side of the car and pressed himself up on her. His mouth was hot, and his tongue moved deep within her mouth while his hands ran the length of her body from shoulder to hip and in between.
“Look what you do to me,” he said into her hair, and Bella felt the scratch of the lace against her full nipples.
“You really have no effect on me whatsoever,” she said back as her hand grasped the solidness it had held before. “None. Nada. Zip.”
Reece laughed. “I can see. Now let’s go,” he said, and he picked her up and flung her over his back before exiting the garage, her surprised laughter ringing in their ears.
60
Bella’s head hit the pillow as she looked up at Reece’s chiseled chest from below. She still wore the black lace underwear he had carefully selected for her, and the garter still held the black stockings in place. Reece ran a finger down the center of her breastbone to the small dip of her belly button. Then he kissed her where his finger had stopped and on below, his lips breathing through the lace of the panties she wore. He sat back up to get a good look at her.
“What?” she asked at the hesitation in movement.
“Just taking it all in,” he smiled.
Bella reached her hands out towards him and brought his face down into her long hair fanned out behind her on the pillow. She inhaled his scent and he hers. She was doing it: she was letting herself be happy in the moment with Reece, not thinking of anything but the stabilizing weight of him on top of her, the smell of his spicy sandalwood, and the feel of his breath on her neck. His gaze had stripped her soul of all pretenses and prevarications, and she knew that he could see her for who she was. The carnal need of moments before had been replaced with a deeper passion, a feeling of connection of souls rather than just bodies.
Reaching for the clasp at the front of the bra, Reece began a deliberate, slow undressing as if Bella were a gift with precious wrapping he wanted to keep. The soft slowness of it drove her wild and yet it was exactly what she wanted. He worked his way down to the garter and g-string, measured and methodical. His fingers swept each fastener before he removed the garter and then slid each stocking down the length of her leg. He stopped, returning his lips to her breasts, washing them with the tip of his tongue. All that separated them was a small piece of lace and cotton between Bella’s legs. His fingers stroked and tickled the fabric between her legs, and Bella arched her hips pressing into him. She covered his strong hand with hers, swept the lace to the side, and placed his fingers in her warm wetness, applying pressure from herself. A moan rolled out of her mouth and into the close air between them, and he closed his lips around hers as his fingers began a slow stroking below.
Bella felt shots and zings of pleasurable excitement pulsating underneath his hand and traveling to her core. “Take them off,” she directed, and wasting no time, Reece removed the lacy black panties she had indicated. She wrapped her legs around him while she ran a hand down the front of his body to his hard length. Quickly, he covered himself with a condom from the bedside table, and then she guided him into the darker deeper longings of her body and soul.
Reece felt her muscles clench around him, and he thrust deeper ever so slowly. He seemed to be riding a wave of pleasure, watching them from above, the converging of bodies and souls. Their shared electricity zinged through him, and he could feel every pulse and tingle from within his thrusting muscles moving throughout his extremities. He fit their hips more tightly together as he thrust into her core in one deep movement, his muscles locked. Slowly he met her, stroke for stroke, and just as Bella raised her leg and rubbed it against his back, he felt the rush within him take over.
Her kiss deepened with his last thrust, and she surged into him, bright pinpricks of light bursting from her core and seeping into her blood, her muscles, releasing into her over and over.
She lay catching her breath, feeling the pulses still rocking her body. Reece sat up and gently brought the covers back over her.
“Don’t want you to get cold,” he said as he kissed her bare shoulder. She inched herself closer, resting her head on his chest. She could still hear his heart beating wildly, and her cheek felt the faint sheen of his sweat.
“I think you’re warm enough to keep me warm,” Bella remarked.
“Probably,” she heard Reece say, and could hear the smile in his voice.
“Will you stay?” she asked.
His hesitation caused her to tilt her head up towards him, looking for his eyes.
“I would love to,” he commented, “but I don’t want to push you either.”
She stretched her neck and pursed her lips towards him, and he bowed his head to meet her mouth. It was a tender kiss that told him just how welcomed he was to stay the night with her. And he found himself nodding at her request.
The next morning, Bella awoke first to a strong scent of Reece, and immediately her body felt a longing for him. Then she reached for him and felt his skin beside her. She traced symbols of hearts and flowers on his back, using her finger to draw on the muscular canvas until he finally turned towards her.
“Good morning,” she said.
“It’s about to be better,” he replied, and he drew her towards him, his erection reaching her before his chest did.
Bella pushed his chest away from her. “I haven’t even brushed my teeth,” she protested.
“Me either,” he said. “Who really cares?”
And she realized that in the moment, she didn’t.
“Besides, if you’re going to be waking up beside me on a regular basis, don’t you think we’d better get accustomed to morning breath?”
“Who said anything about a regular basis?” Bella asked.
“Just dreaming about the future,” Reece commented, and then he pulled her towards him again and kissed her, his lips tightly closed.
Within minutes, the two were soaring among clouds of delight as Bella sat atop Reece thrusting herself up and down upon him. She threw her head back just as he sank his fingers into her buttocks, and their two voices sang together as they zoomed through the stratosphere feeling starbursts from within their souls even in the morning sunlight.
He joined her in the shower and began by soaping her breasts as he stood behind her, pushing in her stomach with the soap-free hand so that her hips and buttocks were snug against him. Now that he had her in place, his hand slid downward tracing the opening with his fingers. The water from the shower poured over them and pooled in the valley created between his chest and Bella’s back. He gently tugged and rubbed the spot that made her squirm, finding her hard and round with readiness. The heat from the shower was cool compared to the heat they had begun to generate, and she arched into a slow rocking back and forth, his fingers playing her like a delicate instrument until her breath caught and he brought her over the peak.
Bella turned towards him, slanted her mouth onto his firmly. “Your turn,” she whispered.
“How about
a rain check?” Reece asked.
She backed her head away and looked at him with wonder. He leaned in a kissed her again. “It isn’t about keeping score, Bella. It’s about showing someone how you feel, seizing the moment, and letting them know you love them.”
She felt the words pelt her along with the water from the shower, only it seemed they penetrated deeper through her skin and into her heart.
“That’s right,” Reece smiled. “I love you. I have for a long time, and I don’t expect you to answer it back, just like I don’t expect you to answer the orgasm I just gave you. It’s love. It’s not a competition.”
He had already told her how he felt that perfect day in the woods—the day they had biked and picnicked and ridden horses. He confessed he’d never be able to love Nicky; that they shared the bond of their child, but he’d had feelings for Bella for too long now. But this . . . this moment was somehow even more meaningful.
Maybe it was their nakedness that made them more vulnerable. Maybe it was the cleansing shower serving as a metaphor for this cleansing of her soul that he offered with his love. Maybe it was just every detail that had been put into place this weekend so perfectly, but she felt the desire to recapitulate for the first time. Still, she held herself back.
But as the steady stream from the shower washed down their bodies, still touching, it was easy for her to hide the tears of joy that streamed down her face from the simple recognition that she—Bella Ryan—was categorically, undeniably, most assuredly in love with Reece Hamilton. And soon, she knew she could tell him.
61
Monday found Bella exhausted and relaxed all at the same time. It had been an emotional weekend, but one she was certain to never forget. As she strode into the main offices of Dreamscapes Interior Designs, she was greeted warmly by many people from her past. Several designers who had helped train her, assistants who had worked with her, and graphics assistants who had all brought her to the place she was now.