Feed a grub royal jelly and he will turn into an Emperor butterfly, she recalled. It seemed that the old saying held true, even into today.
She took a deep breath. “Are you nervous?”
He paused a moment in his shaving and then resumed the cutting of his facial hair. “Yes… a little.”
“Why?” she gestured to his body. He was dressed only in his new slacks and his shoes. His new jacket and tie hung on a nearby hook, waiting to be added to his new attire. “Nobody is going to recognize you. They’ll be blown away when they see you.”
He finished shaving the underside of his neck and began to clean away his cheeks. “That’s not why I’m nervous.”
“It’s not?”
He shook his head, rinsing his razor off, and then leaning his weight against the marble surface of the vanity. “I’m nervous because… well… I suppose I am nervous because of the way I look. But also because of what I have to say when the world sees me.”
Janice was confused by his words and without turning to look back at her to see that confusion, he explained. “It’s only been my father and I for so long,” he replied. “I… I miss my mother… I still do.”
She nodded comprehensively. “I’m sorry, Alexi.”
He sighed. “I know it wasn’t that long ago that she and my father got divorced and I started to…” he looked down at the foamy shaving water in the sink and shut his eyes, “I started to act out after that.”
“It was a broken home you had, Alexi,” she said assuredly. “It messes with everyone’s head if they’re not prepared for it.”
He nodded. “I suppose it does.” He opened his eyes and looked up at his reflection in the mirror. “It’s just… the drugs… the alcohol… the girls… the parties… it felt like I wasn’t me for a long time. It felt like everything that I was feeling: the anger, the hate, the loss… it felt like it was someone else’s problem.” He turned to look back at her. “Does that make any sense?”
She nodded. She heard a similar enough motive to party Winehouse-style before. Family problems were usually enough to send anyone over the edge. Divorces… affairs… dead children… live children… bad business… horrible press… she’d seen its effects on people before. And while the reasons for things like that had often eluded her on a personal level she knew that people often engaged in such things for reasons that seemed good to them.
No other reason was really required.
She looked at her watch again. “Better hurry up,” she said, straightening her own business jacket. “It’s almost time.”
Alexi went back to his shaving.
Chapter 9
The morning air was cold and bit at her face as she stood wrapped in her thick jacket. Christmas season had definitely come and though its teeth and claws tried and failed to rip at her through her warm covering, all it managed to successfully attack was her face.
She was already amazed at the success of her work as she looked around the open square of the main foyer of the building in which she had been living for the last month. It was packed with people, most of them men and women of the press, but there were others present as well. She marked them as investors… patrons… people with money in the company. The people that Mr. Volkov wished to keep right where they were.
And none of them, she observed, had bothered to notice the clean-shaven and darkly clad young man that had been sitting just behind and to the right of his father. She tried hard not to look at Alexi, not wanting to ruin the surprise before it was time. But that he had gone unmarked this whole was only adding to the suspense. When he finally got up to speak, announced by his father, the world would see the fruits of her labor as well as his own.
She found the anticipation building madly within her.
“… the future of this company,” said Mr. Volkov, bringing her attention back down to Earth. “Our new research and development facilities, which will officially go online at the end of this coming March will be overseen by our new head of development administration.”
She held her breath. This is it.
“I’d like to present, my son, Alexi,” Mr. Volkov said, his voice brimming with pride.
There was a collective gasp from the audience that made Janice swell with satisfaction as if she were being filled with hydrogen and being lifted from off the ground. She felt as though she were indeed floating above the ground and dancing on air and resisted the urge to actually get up and dance once again at the sound the audience made. It was nothing short of the sound of success.
Alexi rose up from off of his chair and embraced his father with strong and happy arms. As he did so Janice could hear people in the audience as a small flurry of words left their lips that were given over in excited and hushed voices.
“Oh my god! That is Alexi!”
“—can’t be!”
“Not possible…”
“He’s cute!”
“—did he come home? Our guys say that he’s still in rehab!”
“—been watching the building for weeks…”
“…never saw this one coming!”
“Damn! He looks sharp!”
“—could have walked in right past us and never even noticed!”
Janice drank it all in. The sound of so much surprise was like music, soft and somehow full of an upbeat rhythm. She covered her excitement by adjusting herself in her seat and taking a long-awaited breath of relief. Her work was just about to pay off, she knew. If the crowd was convinced then Mr. Volkov was sure to be convinced. And soon, it would be a long vacation for her.
“Thank you,” Alexi said as he assumed the podium in place of his father, his voice echoing through the microphone in the square and as she had predicted, numerous camera flashes began to riddle the platform on which she, Mr. Volkov, and a handful of the company executives had been sitting. “Thank you,” he repeated, his words sounding smooth and practiced. They had rehearsed this speech numerous times and it flowed from out of him with the kind of smooth grace as fine liquor.
“I’m very pleased to be back,” he said warmly and there was a small roar of applause from the crowd. Janice felt herself perk up at the sound. It was her work that they were applauding; for certain none of them had recognized him while he’d been seated. “And I’m very pleased to be with you here today, on Christmas Eve.” He took a short breath. “I can honestly say that this is nothing short of a Christmas miracle that I am here today… because when I went to rehab… as I’m sure you’re all aware, I was completely different person.” He looked down at his suit. “My wardrobe was certainly in much need of approval.”
There was a small chuckle from the crowd.
“But I’m pleased to say that all of that changed nearly a month ago… when I met an amazing woman.”
Janice froze. That’s not part of the speech!
“A woman that literally came to me in my own house… and knocked me off my feet,” Alexi went on. “And I’m very proud to say that it was because of her that I realized that my trip into rehab was necessary. And I’m even more proud that she was brave enough to come and sit with us today here on the platform.” He turned and gestured to her.
What? No! No! No!
There was another flurry of camera flashes from the audience as her image was captured inside what had to be dozens of cameras from the host sitting before her. She did her best to keep her facial features neutral – or supportive at least – but she found it hard to keep what could only be excitement building up inside of her.
Janice looked to Mr. Volkov who looked directly at his son, though she could feel his eyes keeping her in her periphery. He could out them both in this speech! He could divulge the secrets of his rehab and tell the press everything and it would ruin everything that she had done… and everything that she had been trying to build. And Mr. Volkov would certainly withhold his payment… she would be ruined.
Oh, god!
“And that one single day changed me,” Alexi said, almost affectionately
. “Because on that same day… I fell in love with her.”
Janice froze; the cold of the weather feeling like it had suddenly become as balmy as a summer day.
“And in that time since… she consented to be my wife.”
Her heart began hammering in her chest so loudly that she couldn’t hear anything else after that. Not even the remainder of Alexi’s speech… or the speech that his father gave following that which backed up his son’s claims. Just as she had instructed him to do.
Oh, shit.
The warmth of the building lobby did little to warm her as she and Alexi were hurried away from the press conference like a well-protected couple. Mr. Volkov had stayed behind to answer more questions about the new business venture that he was entering into and – Janice suspected – the questions regarding the impending wedding of her and his son.
She almost wanted to scream as she and Alexi were ushered into the private elevator that would take them back up to the penthouse. Once the door closed and their privacy was assured she opened her jacket and loosened her scarf, hoping that perhaps a sudden chill would wake her up and that the whole press conference would be nothing but a nightmare.
“Janice…” Alexi said once they were alone.
She shoved him as hard as she could. “What the fuck was that?!” she demanded. “I’m sorely tempted to punch you in the face again! Do you know what you’ve done?!”
He was silent.
She turned away from him, unable to look at him directly. But instead she found only the reflected infinity of the mirrored walls of the elevator and countless versions of Alexi stared at her. She found it was literally impossible to look away from him.
“I need to clean up,” he said softly.
“You’ve done that,” she replied hotly.
“But I need to keep clean, Janice,” he retorted, almost imploringly. “And I can’t do that if you’re not here.”
She turned to face him, feeling tears beginning to well up in her eyes. “Alexi… you just told the whole fucking world that you and I are engaged!” She stomped her foot decisively. “We are not engaged! You’re clean and sober and your papa’s happy! That was how you were supposed to get rid of me, remember?”
“I don’t want to get rid of you now,” he said calmly.
She shook her head in frustration. “No… no! This can’t happen! We need to go back downstairs right-the-hell-now and you need to tell all those people that we are not engaged!”
“I can’t do that.”
Fury boiled up inside of her and she formed a fist and cocked her arm back to throw a punch into the well-groomed face that she had helped shape over the last thirty days. If Alexi turned up tomorrow with a fresh black eye, maybe she could have the ammo she needed to get fired from her job. Maybe she’d get half her promised check… maybe she’d only get a quarter of it… she found she didn’t care. As long as she could get away from this place – away from Alexi – she would feel fine with that.
Before she could throw her punch, Alexi moved to her with renewed speed and planted his lips upon hers.
The kiss was sweet… warm… full of fire that dissipated the chill she’d been filling the same way a hot wind sweeps across a desert. She could taste him. She could smell his after shave. She could feel his skin against hers. His arms encircled her, holding her close.
Unbidden, the fight went out of her.
As if they had minds of their own, her hands circled his neck, holding him close. She became aware that she wanted to be this close to him. There was something inside of her telling her that she had wanted this for a long time. She found that she only wanted time to stop.
She got half her wish.
Alexi reached out and pressed his thumb against the keypad that gave them access to the elevator. He keyed a code and the elevator stopped.
Without a word he put his lips once more against hers and with a driving force that she suddenly felt powerless against they lightly fell to the hardened floor of the elevator.
She didn’t try to speak or stop him now. He had been the subject of her whims for the last thirty days. There was something symmetrical about her suddenly becoming powerless to do anything to stop his whims.
With their reflections mimicking their every move she watched as Alexi rested his weight upon her. His hands quickly sought the hem of her shirt and snaked their way up. He cupped her breasts, squeezing them hard. The feeling was enough to cause her pain, but there was something exciting and enticing about the feeling.
“More… more…” she whispered.
Disregarding his new suit he rose up, kneeling before her. His hands found the buckle of her belt and he unzipped her slacks. He pulled them and her panties aside in one swift and lustful move. It was almost harsh, how he did so, but she didn’t want him to stop. She wanted him to keep going. She found herself wanting to see that rough and ragged boy that she had first met again.
And she wanted him now.
Alexi hastily undid his pants and pulled them down enough so that his cock was freed from behind the restraining material. His hands once again found her shirt and hefted the material up, allowing him to gaze freely upon her breasts.
Then he thrust himself inside of her.
The feeling was suddenly like lightning between her legs. Janice had had lovers before, but there had never been one like this. She had always found some element of excitement and comfort in foreplay. But its absence now was… invigorating.
“I want this,” he said fiercely as he began to repeatedly thrust in her. “I want this so badly!”
The power between her legs was tremendous. Janice already felt the tides of her body rising, going from gentle waves to tsunami force in no time flat. She found her hands shooting out, looking for something firmer than air to hold onto. Her hands found the smooth glass walls of the elevator and she braced herself against them, anchoring her body so that she would not move as Alexi’s lust provided more and more power that felt capable of moving mountains.
He began to grunt and her body responded. She could feel herself becoming wetter as he moved in and out of her. The sound his flesh slapping against hers added the music of their sudden harmony. And to the choir she added her own throat as she began to moan with his movements.
He was hard… so hard that she could feel the veins in his cock as they rubbed against the walls of her vagina. He began to gyrate his hips as he moved; reminding her of a lap dance that she had once gotten during her college years. He swirled her inside, his cock penetrating to her depths, brushing against the inside of her labia, her mons, her clit…
He leaned against her, resting the weight of his body on hers. And like a hungry baby his mouth fell over one of her nipples and he sucked at it, sending new batches of lightning into the storm already raging within her. Her hands abandoned their bracing posture and she ran them over his body. Though he was still clothed she could feel the muscles that were hidden underneath. It was like a small torture that she could not touch him as he touched her. Her fingers found his scalp and she ran them through it, destroying his well-combed hair.
“Harder,” she demanded.
He obliged.
He moved his mouth over to her other teat and the thrusts of his hips intensified. The sounds of his grunts also became louder. She feared, for only a moment, that they might be heard and that it was possible that someone might be interested in opening the elevator doors to find them here like this.
So what? She thought it with a smile that was pleasing. We’re engaged and at least we waited until we were alone. What can they say?
She wrapped her legs around him, pinning him against her. His body tensed against hers and she could feel the storm inside her swirling to dangerous levels. He had not yet brought her to her full, nor she him, but they were coming close to the point where the storm would break.
He freed his mouth from her breast and took both her tits in his hands like the joysticks on some kind of a flight craft and massaged them
as he continued to move within her. His hands on her bosom, her hands in his hair, they found each other’s control centers. Every twitch of her fingers added vigor and speed to his pelvis. Every squeeze of his palms elicited a delighted moan from her.
Such was their song and this tiny elevator was their hall.
“I want you for my wife,” he said, his voice sounding gruff but sincere.
Her mind felt as though it had been deprived of something vital… perhaps it was blood… or oxygen as her breaths came in short gasps now. But all she was able to do was look up at him as his pelvis grinded against hers.
“I want you for my wife,” he repeated, sound just as he had before.
She could see no sign of deception in his face. She had grown accustomed to seeing such in his face. And just as she had known him to be in recent weeks, he was sincere.
“Come in me,” she said softly. “Make me your wife.”
He smiled softly at her and though the expression was gentle, his actions were not. Though she wouldn’t have thought it possible, he began to push harder against her.
The storm inside of her began to grow. She could feel a typhoon stirring inside of her, threatening to swallow her from the inside. Lightning and thunder clapped within her, striking every chord of her body like the strings on a guitar. She could feel every tiny vibration of her body as it collided with his. Though it was a gale inside of her, she found that she wanted nothing more than to be consumed and lost in it.
She got her wish.
With a final and loud grunt, Alexi reached his peak.
She felt the plunge inside of her. It was the warm waters of the ocean converging with the cold waters and with a great wave she felt washed over by warmth that she had never felt before in her life. The storm in her belly was suddenly dwarfed by the feeling that Alexi plunged into her. Her body’s storm was suddenly swallowed by his, like the ripples of a pebble in still waters suddenly consumed by the splash of a boulder.
Their bodies moistened… tensed… then held.
REGENCY: Loved by the Duke (Historical Billionaire Military Romance) (19th Century Victorian Short Stories) Page 55