by Ali Parker
He tore open the condom and sheathed himself, and he rolled back on the bed, pulling me on top of him. Cock in his hand, he let the other hand come to rest on my hip as he guided me over him.
“I want to watch you,” he murmured, his eyes dark, and my lips parted as I tried to find the words to reply, to tell him how badly I wanted to please him, that I would have done anything to bring that connection back once more. Instead, I bit my lip and shifted my hips so I was over him and began to lower myself down on his cock.
“Oh,” I groaned, pressing my hands onto his chest for leverage as I took him in for the first time in what felt like forever. He felt so good at this angle, but this way, I could watch his face as I took him.
He let his hands come to my waist, his finger sinking into my skin as though he intended to leave marks. He was holding me so tight, it was like he was worried I might slip away if he let go. Some part of me wanted to remind him that I wasn’t going anywhere, that I loved him and that we could make this work, but I had to hold myself back no matter how tempting it was. I looked deeply into his eyes as I rocked my hips back and forth on top of him, allowing him to thrust up into me so we could build a pace.
“Touch yourself,” he ordered softly, the quietness of the voice belying the sureness of what he was asking for me. I slipped my hand between my legs and began to stroke my clit, letting my head tip back and my hair fall down over my shoulders, closing my eyes and allowing the pleasure to overtake me in ways it hadn’t before. It came in waves, long and slow, as I rode him, and he moved up into me. It was all I could do to keep my mind from unfurling over the way it felt.
Finally, after a long while, Kristo took control once more. He sat up, wrapping his arms around me, and thrust up into me, one hand on my ass and the other on the back of my neck, holding me good and steady. I slipped my hand out from between my legs and sank my nails into his skin, raking them all over his muscular shoulders, letting him know I was here and he wasn’t the only one who could leave marks.
I was getting close, the pleasure cresting in me all over again as I tried to keep myself steady. Everything that was tied up in this, all the emotion and intensity and everything I’d tried to leave behind, overwhelmed me all at once, and with a cry that seemed to fill the whole room, I came.
My body shuddered against his, and I pushed myself against him, needing to feel his skin next to mine, needing to remind myself this was real and that I wasn’t just lost to some fantasy in my bed all by myself. He held me close, mouth on my neck, as my pussy clenched around his cock, and moments later, I felt him finish inside of me, his body tensing and then releasing as we clutched onto each other.
I wasn’t sure how long the two of us were there like that, but we both seemed to understand that when we pulled apart from each other, we were going to have to accept we had done this and that it had been a stupid idea and that we should have stopped ourselves while we could. But I wasn’t ready for that yet, not when he was brushing a series of sweet kisses up my neck and toward my ear.
Finally, we extracted ourselves from each other, pulling apart slowly but surely, as he slipped out of me, and I collapsed on the bed next to him. I was exhausted, physically and emotionally, but also completely wired as though someone had shot me through with electricity. I knew I was going to have a hard time sleeping tonight, whether or not he was there with me.
He disposed of the condom, and I felt the emotion well up threateningly inside of me. I knew I needed to ignore it, but how could I do that after what had just happened?
I half-expected him not to bother coming back into the room, but sure enough, a few moments later, he returned, and he slid onto the bed next to me. He didn’t say a word, waiting for me to speak, but it wasn’t like I had any good idea of what we should do next.
I lay there, staring at the ceiling for a while, and my body ached to reach out and touch him. Apparently sensing the need pulsing through my body, he reached out for me and pulled me toward him, letting my head come to rest on his shoulder. I nestled myself into him, wondering if he had any idea what he was doing to me. Hell, maybe he liked it, knowing that he had this woman who had fallen for him, a woman he could find that emotional depth with.
He had asked. Before he had done anything serious, he had asked. He had stopped and made sure this was what I wanted, and knowing that he cared enough to think of me in that way had wrecked me. That combined with the sex and I knew I had sent myself spiraling into a deeper hole than the one I’d been in before, lost to him, my body and my mind given over to him once and for all. The words were on the tip of my tongue as we lay there in the dark together, but I swallowed them down. He didn’t want to hear them. And for now, I just wanted to be close to him.
30
“Good morning.”
“Morning,” she replied nervously, arms wrapped around herself as she stepped out of the bedroom. She was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, somehow looking even hotter than she did when she was all done up in her fancy work dresses or to see my family.
“You have the day off today, right?” I remarked, and she nodded.
“Yeah, it’s a holiday,” she replied. “Why?”
“Let’s go out,” I suggested. I had woken early this morning and called work and told them I would be taking the day off. I had no idea what holiday it was, but I was celebrating it with Amaya for the rest of the day and nothing anyone could say was going to stop me.
“Are you sure?” She arched an eyebrow. “I have some work to catch up on. I was just going to stay at home and get it all done.”
“Do you need to do it?”
“No,” she admitted.
“Then let’s get out of the city for a while,” I implored her. “Not far, I promise. Just shake off the steam a little, huh?”
“Okay,” she replied carefully and glanced down at what she was wearing. “Do I need to change?”
“No, you look perfect,” I replied without thinking, and I could see her face register the words, a little jolt like she hadn’t expected to hear them from me. I remembered how she had looked on top of me the night before, head tipped back and fingers on her clit as she pushed herself to orgasm riding my cock, and I quickly shoved the image to the back of my mind. Nope. I wasn’t going to let that get under my skin. Whatever had happened last night and however amazing it had been, I had to stay focused on the here and now. I was just going to dazzle her a little, that was all. She deserved it.
“Okay.” She nodded. “Can I just grab something to eat before we go?”
“Sure thing.” I waved my hand. “I need to take a shower anyway.”
I headed to get ready for our day together, and I was struggling to keep the big-ass grin off my face as I let the hot water run over me and picked out an outfit for what I had planned. I still wasn’t quite sure what had happened last night. I just knew we had fallen asleep together afterward, and it had felt like the most natural thing in the world, to have her body pressed close to mine when I woke up this morning. She was still naked when I’d climbed out of bed, and it had taken everything in me not to wake her in a way she couldn’t say no to. But I had to take things slow. I still had no idea where she was in her head or what last night had done to the two of us, and that meant letting her set the pace.
But I was so glad she was back with me again, properly. I missed her more than I’d realized and not just the sex, though that had been beyond incredible. I’d missed the closeness, that feeling that there was someone nearby who actually knew me.
When I had finished getting ready, I found her leaning up against the counter waiting for me, looking relaxed with a small smile on her face.
“You ready to go?” I asked, and she nodded.
“Let’s get out of here.”
She didn’t ask where I was taking her, and I loved that she was up for whatever adventure I had in mind. We took my car and headed straight down to the helipad, and I watched her face as she tried to figure out where the heck we were going.
I pulled to a halt outside the building, and she climbed out of the car and peered up at it. She glanced over at me and frowned, clearly not picking up on what was happening.
“What are we actually doing today?” she demanded, and I grinned.
“Something I guarantee you’ve never done before,” I replied and then jerked my head toward the building. “Come on.”
It had been a long time since I’d flown in the helicopter, but it was always fun. A little scary, sure, but that was what made it so exciting in the first place. We made our way up sets of stairs, and she followed behind me, glancing around and trying to pick up on some clues as we headed toward the roof. Then, we arrived, and her eyes widened when she stepped out the door behind me and saw what we were standing in front of. I nodded to Nathan, the pilot, and he greeted me with a curt nod in return.
“You have got to be kidding me.” She gasped as she took a long look at the sleek chopper waiting for us on the deck. “We’re riding in this thing?”
“If you want to.” I grinned, and she approached it tentatively and began to pace around it, taking it in from all angles.
“Oh, I totally want to.” She grinned widely. “Is it safe? Where are we going?”
“Yeah, it’s safe,” I assured her. “And I thought we could take a trip out to South Carolina.”
“Just like that?” She laughed. “Just for the day?”
“Just like that,” I agreed, and she shook her head, still grinning.
“I guess I can’t really say no,” she replied, and with that, the two of us started our preparations to fly. I had done it at least a dozen times before, for meetings across the country at the last minute, but this would be her first time, and I could see that she was seriously nervous.
“It’s going to be all right,” I promised her as I helped strap her into the harnesses. Up front, Nathan was getting everything in hand for us to fly. I had called ahead with the details this morning, and I was looking forward to getting out of the city for a while, especially with Amaya on my arm.
“You took my airplane virginity and my helicopter one.” She managed to tease me, even though I could still see the slight panic pulsing in her eyes.
“I think that’s it for airborne vehicles,” I jibed with her, hoping it would distract her. “Unless you want me to fire you into space.”
“We’ll see about that,” she replied, and she tensed as the safety checks were finished the rotors began spinning above us. “Oh my god, this is crazy.”
I suddenly realized she’d reached over and was grasping my hand tightly, her knuckles so tensed, they looked as though they were going to pop out from under her skin. I squeezed her hand, letting her know it was going to be all right as the pilot pulled up and away from the building and into the sky.
She didn’t say much during the trip, staring down at the scenery below us, but she didn’t let go of my hand either, and that was all I needed to keep me happy. We arrived after a trip that felt as though it sped by, Nathan bringing us to a gentle landing at my usual airstrip not too far out from the city.
“Your car is waiting for you, sir.” Nathan glanced over at the two of us with a smile. I nodded.
“Thanks, Nathan,” I replied. I helped Amaya unbuckle from the helicopter and led her to solid ground. Her legs were shaking a little bit, and I couldn’t help but find that seriously cute.
I had prepared a rental car to drive us to the beach, and she slipped into the seat next to me and closed her eyes, letting out a long sigh of relief.
“Okay, maybe I’m just a baby, but I feel so much better in here than I did in the helicopter,” she remarked, and I laughed.
“You’re not a baby,” I assured her. “They’re freaky the first time around. I get that, trust me.”
“Thank you for taking me out today,” she replied. “I really … I just really needed to get away from all that shit in the city, you know?”
“I know,” I replied, and without another word, we pulled out and headed down to the beach. I didn’t want to talk too much more about what the city held for the two of us, what had happened the night before, so I made a beeline for the beach and thanked God the sun was burning up some of the cooling cloud cover.
A grin spread across her face when we came to a halt on the beachfront, and she climbed out, eyes wide as she scanned across the sparkling blue beyond us.
“This is gorgeous, Kristo,” she breathed, and I fought the urge to tell her the view had nothing on her.
“You want to take a walk? There’s a place I know at the edge of the beach, a restaurant. We could do lunch there.”
“I’d love to,” she agreed, and she looped her arm through mine, and the two of us began to hike down the beach. It was so easy to be around her like this, to just chat about nothing in particular, about Cleo, her job, my job, Jolene, and the family. It was times like this when I felt myself start to believe we were honestly a real couple, but at the same time, the two of us were doing everything we could to avoid the conversation that might make that a reality. What had happened last night, we were ignoring it with every fiber of our beings, and we would need to stick to that if we were to make it through today without an argument. As the sun glanced off the water, it caught her ring, sending blades of light shimmering from the metal and reminding me that no matter what happened, this woman was my wife, and we were tied to each other.
We arrived at the restaurant, and even though it was a little cool by the time we got there, she insisted we sit outside. The wind lifted her hair a little as she looked out over the sea beyond us, and her eyes were distant and dreamy as though she was a million miles away from me.
“You okay?” I asked gently, and she nodded, blinking and coming back to reality.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” she assured me. “Great.”
We ordered some food—a couple of steaks, at the waiter’s recommendation—and talked more. I knew we were both circling what we couldn’t quite face up to, but I had no idea how to come out and ask her about it. How did she feel about me? Could she give me time to deal with my feelings toward her? Could I wake up next to her again?
We finished up, and she leaned back from the table, satisfied.
“That was so good,” she remarked. “I’m going to tip the waiter enough that he knows how much I appreciate his recommendations.”
“And what tip do I get?” I teased. “I brought you to this place, after all.”
“Hmm, I guess you’ll have to wait and see.” She tapped her finger on her lip playfully, almost flirtatiously. To anyone who might have caught sight of us at that table together, they would have assumed we were nothing more than a happily married couple taking the public holiday as a chance to squeeze in some time together. I wished we could embody that for real.
“What now?” she asked, glancing at her watch.
“There are some shops along the boardwalk.” I nodded in the direction of the street a few minutes from us. “We could head down there and get some stuff for Jolene.”
She nodded, planting her hand over her chest as though she was moved by my suggestion.
“That sounds great.”
I paid up, and Amaya left an enormous tip for the waiter, just like she’d said she was going to, and we headed down to the shops to find something for her sister. A question was nagging at the back of my mind, and I knew I had to come out with it sooner rather than later.
I watched her as she went through one of the racks of clothes, pulling out a dress in pale blue with thick straps. She held it up and moved it back and forth, frowning slightly, trying to figure out whether to get it or not.
“You like it?” I asked.
“For Jolene,” she replied, not taking her eyes off the dress. “I’m not sure if she would like it or not, though. A few years ago, she would have loved something like this, but she’s a teenager now, and I can never keep up with how she actually wants to dress.”
I hesitated for a moment. I wasn’t sure
if I was about to ruin a beautiful day, but I had to know.
“Amaya, can I ask you something?”
She glanced over at me.
“What is it?” she replied, wary. I took a deep breath and then came out with it. Amaya didn’t appreciate bullshitting any more than I did, and I wasn’t going to keep her waiting.
“What happened to your parents?” I knew, but I wanted the details. All of them. I wanted to know her more intimately that I had up to that point.
She stopped what she was doing and put the dress back on the rack carefully. The store was quiet and nearly empty, and she took a step toward me. I could see the hurt flash through her eyes, but she inhaled deeply and finally spoke.
“They died a long time ago. I told you that,” she replied. “In an accident. I was just eighteen. I was so young, and Jolene was barely a few years old, and I had to step in and look after her. There was no one else in the family who could do it, so I …”
She hesitated again, catching her breath.
“They gave us a payout, the insurance people, for the accident, and I took it so I could go off to college and support my sister at the same time,” she explained. “But when I finished up, I realized I couldn’t hold down a job and look after her.”
“Hey, you don’t have to talk about this if you don’t want to,” I assured her swiftly. “Really.”
“No, it’s okay.” She brushed a few tears away from her eyes, as though angry at herself. I fell silent and looked at the store assistant, who was lurking nearby awkwardly and watching us. I shot her a look that told her to back right the hell off, and she scurried away to the other end of the store and left us to it.
“I wanted to be with her,” she went on, speaking more quietly now. Usually, I would have done everything I could to stem this kind of show of emotion, but I found myself wanting more from her, craving this connection, the truth of who she was and what had happened to her.