by Tia Siren
“Don’t let him shit you!” called Joseph from the back of the room. Chuckles and murmurs came from the crowd.
“Well, I definitely hoped it would,” he said smiling “but I honestly have to say that looking at what we built, I am humbled when I look out toward all of you. When I look at the fact that Caldwell and Johnson Associates employs between 125 and 150 people successfully I have to smile. If it weren’t for the help and the support of my friends and family, we wouldn’t have gotten this far this fast.” He held up his drink and took a breath. “So here is to you, my friends and family. Thank you.”
Applause and hoots and hollers came from the crowd as Edward took a drink of his champagne. A few other suits walked up to him congratulating him on his success while others asked him what his secrets were as they tried getting an inside scoop on how to be successful.
“Just, hard work and perseverance.”
“What exactly does your company do?” interrupted a casually dressed man in khakis and a golf shirt.
“Andrew Riding, right?” asked Edward.
“Yes, call me Andy.”
Andy was somewhat of a geeky friend of one of the ladies Joseph invited and was always trying to get in on the action. He had been at a few of the company functions, always listening to conversation and acting like there was some sort of big hidden secret on how to become successful and wealthy.
“We are a company that deals with various financial services such as investments, banking and loans.”
“But how did you get started? I mean, you had to have gotten the initial investments someplace.”
“You pitch your idea and your business plan to certain banks and investors in hopes they are interested in investing in you.”
“Edward!” Joseph interrupted, slapping him on the back. “Nice speech my man.”
“Nice timing.” Edward eyes Joseph and he caught on quickly.
Joseph took Andrew’s hand and shook it heartily. “How’s it hangin’?”
“I’m good thanks. Just trying to have a conversation with Edward here, before you….”
“And what was this wise man telling you?”
“Just a few inside tips on how to become successful.” Andy seemed utterly annoyed at Joseph’s interruption.
“Well, Andy. First you have to dress the part. No matter what you do or where you go, always dress for success.”
Andy looked at Joseph’s suit and how crisp and clean it looked on him, then he looked down at his own attire and wrinkled his nose.
“Let me introduce you to a lady I know who is an amazing guru at shopping.” Joseph put his arm around Andy and led him away from Edward as planned. “She can set you right up.”
Edward chuckled as he mingled with some of the other guests he didn’t mind talking to. He spent a lot of his night just chatting with his guests and handing out a few business cards he had made up for the occasion.
When he got back around to Joseph leaning up against the wall as he poured on the charm to a beautiful woman in a sexy red cashmere dress, he didn’t hesitate to interrupt. “Hey, thanks for getting me away from that Andrew character.”
“Hey, no prob. What is his deal anyway?”
“Just looking to make a quick million.”
“Aren’t they all?”
“No doubt.” He redirected his attention to Joseph’s female friend and although he didn’t make it a habit to ask about them, this time he did. “So, who is your friend?”
“This is Miranda. We went out a couple of weeks ago, remember?”
“I remember you talking about her.”
“She is a model for Victoria’s Secret and is looking to let loose for the weekend before flying off to Barbados for a two-week photo shoot.”
“Wow. Impressive.”
“Thank you,” she said in a thick accent. Her pouty lips, bronzed skin and sandy blond hair accented her features very well.
“Is it true that the world deems Brazilian women as the sexiest women on earth?” asked Edward trying to be polite but coy.
“If it is,” Joseph interrupted “Miranda here is on the top of the list.” He leaned closer to her, kissing her nose, then her lips three times before acknowledging Edward.
“I do not know, but I will use my beauty for as long as I can. Modelling has been very rewarding for me.”
“I bet it has. You are very beautiful.”
“Thank you, Edward. Would you like to meet my girlfriend? She is from Fortaleza, Brazil, like me.”
“I’d be delighted to meet her.”
Miranda put her fingers into her mouth and whistled a quick but loud whistle as she looked around the room. Within a few moments a brunette even more beautiful in Edward’s opinion, approached them. She was almost as tall as he was in her heels and her piercing green eyes seemed to look right through him.
“Hello,” he said, putting his hand out toward her, seemingly mesmerized by her.
“This is Talita, Miranda’s friend. Talita, this is Edward.”
“Hello,” she said with the same familiar accent. She took his hand delicately and smiled as if it was something she rehearsed before meeting him.
He pulled her hand to his mouth and kissed it keeping his eyes on hers. She didn’t waver, she didn’t shy away and she didn’t lose her demeanor. He liked that.
“Oh,” Joseph pursed his lips. “I do believe we have a winner.”
“What?” Miranda asked curiously.
“Nothing honey. Why don’t we take a walk?” He put his arm around her and pulled her away from Edward and Talita, leaving them in a room full of people that seemed to fade away.
“So, Edward. What do you do?”
He smiled and put his head down. It was unexpected. Usually everyone knew who he was. “I work at Caldwell and Johnson.”
“Oh, how nice. I hear it is a fabulous company, very promising and successful.”
“Yes, I have heard that too.”
“You are cute, very modest. I like that.”
“Well thank you. I try to stay humble.”
“It is very attractive on you.”
Edward and Talita finished out the night on the top deck of the ship, a beautiful moon overhead illuminating the waters around them and casting a very romantic light on his new female friend. She rubbed her arms as the night got later and he reached up to his chest to take his suit coat off but remembered he had taken it off at the party and never retrieved it.
“Walk with me. I’ll get you something to put on.” He took her hand and they strolled along the deck and back to the party. When they got back into the party room, there were only a few stragglers left. He went to his table and saw that his jacket was missing.
“Excuse me,” he asked a couple sitting nearby. They were completely into their conversation about politics and the Brexit issues. “I don’t mean to interrupt.”
“Hey, Edward. No, it’s fine. What do you need?”
“Have you seen my jacket by any chance? I left it here on my chair earlier.”
“I saw Joseph with it before he left. He must have thought you left for the night.”
“Ah, thank you.” He nodded to the couple and smiled. “Enjoy your evening.” He turned to Talita and took her hand, contemplating on whether to get it from him or whether to go up to his room and get another one. When he stopped in front of Joseph’s door he leaned forward in hopes of grasping some sort of idea whether he and his lady friend were inside and if it was worth interrupting them. The door was slightly open so he pushed it a bit more and noticed a piece of red clothing on the carpet acting as a door jam, keeping it from entirely closing. Recognizing it as Miranda’s dress, he pushed the door open a little more and peered inside. The light from the moon played an important part on allowing him to see the festivities inside his partner’s room. The blankets were piled up on the floor and Joseph’s naked ass was bobbing up and down on a pair of tanned arms and legs reminding him of a sexy spider being pinned underneath a naked black man.
“Hmmm,” he muttered. He kicked the dress inside the room and quietly closed the door. When he turned around the look on his face made Talita blush.
“They are not!” she exclaimed in a loud whisper.
He nodded, confirming her suspicions and took her hand, leading her down the corridor to his cabin. When they got inside and he turned a light on, she gasped.
“Oh, my. This is gorgeous. How did you get such a beautiful room?”
“I guess I just got lucky.”
“I only got a small port hole for a window. You must be pretty important in the company to get a room like this.”
“I do okay.” He knew he should have told her he owned half the company, but he rarely got the opportunity to clean water down role as a normal man who had to work for a living. The thought amused him so he continued the role. “I guess it helps to know people.”
Chapter 3
Edward leaned against the wall and watched Talita as she marveled at the room walking in and out of the bathroom, in and out of the bedroom, pulling the curtains from the window and being rendered speechless at the view.
“I am completely in awe. I just can’t believe this.”
Edward walked through the bedroom and onto the balcony behind her. His arms slid around her body like they were meant to be there. He buried his face into her long dark curls and inhaled, smelling her aroma and becoming aroused at the way her body responded to him.
She softened as her arms reached up and behind her, wrapping them around his neck like limp noodles. When she turned around, he looked into her eyes and saw a drunken beauty part her lips and close her eyes. He leaned down and covered her lips with his, kissing her deeply, feeling the intensity build as his hands slid up her back.
“What do you want?” she whispered, pulling slightly away from him.
He pressed his mouth into hers and pulled her into him.
She pulled away again when he didn’t respond. “I want to feel you, Edward. I want to feel you inside me.” Her words ran together as her lips invited him in.
If he hadn’t been with her most of the night, he would have thought she was drunk on the alcohol that was provided at the party, but because they were in each other’s company for the last couple of hours he knew that he was the reason for her drunken instability.
He ran his hand across the side of her face, pushing her hair back and allowing the moonlight to give him access to her beauty. For every touch he contributed in, she sensually and submissively responded to. It wasn’t new to him, but it was different this time. Perhaps because he wasn’t the successful and very wealthy entrepreneur in her mind. Perhaps because she was a thing of beauty that he very deeply wanted to be a part of. He memorized her face, her features, the way she bowed her head toward his touch, the way she cooed when he caressed her skin.
She opened her big brown eyes and as they looked at him, her eyelids heavy with lust, he couldn’t help but to feel like he wanted to protect her. But from what? They were alone in his room, with no jeopardy to either of them. What was he feeling that was so different than what he had felt before with the other women he had been with?
The balcony cradled two soft lounge chairs and a small table for couples to enjoy the view. Edward pushed the table back away from one of the chairs and sat down on the edge. He leaned back, pulling Talita toward him as he stared into her eyes. He led each of her legs to each side of him and pulled her down on his lap.
“Move your hair back,” he whispered. “I want to watch you.”
Her body shivered at his request and she immediately but slowly complied.
He watched her dark red nails push her hair back off her soft, tanned shoulders, the black straps of her dress giving her skin the only contrast in the moonlight. He sat up so his fingers could entangle themselves within those straps and slide them off her shoulders. His eyes stayed glued to hers as the straps lowered down her arms. He fought to keep his hands where they were as he pulled it lower, enough to expose her perfect breasts that heaved toward him with every full breath she took. It was only then that he broke his stare, his eyes moving down to watch his own hands cover her hardened nipples. He let them drag along the palms of his hands and feed his arousal while watching her body catch fire under his control. He leaned forward, resting his cheek next to her breast, the softness of her skin on his. He felt her nipple next to his ear and it drew his mouth closer until it consumed the small dark nub. His tongue toyed with it and twirled around it causing her to arch her back toward him uncontrollably.
She pushed her body closer to his, her pelvis moving back and forth on the hardness in his pants, a moan escaping her lips when his teeth bit down on his favorite little nub. She grabbed his head and pushed her chest into his face before she pulled his face to hers. Before he could take a breath, her tongue was in his mouth and her hands were pulling at his clothes.
He wasn’t sure where it came from or why he wanted to stop, but a thought entered his head. He had his share of women in the past. They all ended the same way. A good night of sex and promises of a budding relationship, then within a week it falls apart. He believed it to be because they went too fast. They never got to know each other, to fall in love with each other before they fell into bed. The sex was always amazing. He knew how to read women enough to know who was going to be good and who wasn’t. Maybe it was because he was getting older or maybe he was just tired of the same routine and scenario. He wanted more.
He let Talita deepen her kiss and push into him a little more before he eased her back. His hands cascaded across her body and he pushed her back and allowed his eyes access to her beautiful body. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy to break the pattern but he needed to, for his own peace of mind.
Talita leaned back and expected his mouth to devour her, but when he stopped touching her and pulled her dress back up to cover her, she sat upright, her sexual arousal quickly diminishing and turning to a saddened expression of displeasure and despair. She didn’t move, hoping he was changing the way he was going to love her. When he slid the straps of her dress back on her shoulders and clasped his hands together between them she knew it wasn’t going to happen.
He watched her reaction and smiled when she started to pout. It melted his heart and he pulled her into him, wrapping his arms around her as he caressed her hair.
“I’m confused, Edward.”
His fingers fed into her hair and wound her luscious locks around his hand.
“Why don’t you want me? Am I not attractive to you?”
“Oh, baby.” His eyes absorbed her. “You are.”
“Then why the hesitation?” she asked, picking his hands up and placing them on her breasts. She leaned into him, her lips an inch from his ear. “Love me, Edward.”
He fought the urge to give in to her, but his mind won over his cock. He took her wrists and locked his hands around them, settling them in between their bodies.
“Talita,” he said directly, lowering his head but keeping his eyes on hers. “You are so attractive and I am completely drawn to you.”
“Then why….”
“Shup,” he interrupted raising a hand to her face. His finger traced her bottom lip, his eyes trailing after it. “I don’t want another meaningless one night stand that we both promise will lead into something wonderful. It doesn’t work that way. I want more.”
She took a deep wanting breath that told him she was listening.
“Come here,” he said motioning for her to get up. He took her hand and led him into his bedroom. “Lie down on my bed.” His eyes pierced into her and she complied. “On your stomach.”
She hesitated only for a moment, wondering what he had planned. She rolled over and closed her eyes when his hands kneaded into the muscles of her shoulders.
“You are amazing with your hands,” she cooed.
“It is just one of my many talents.”
“I can’t wait to find out about the others.”
“In due time, my sw
eet. In due time.”
The sun shone brightly into Edward’s cabin and stirred him from his sleep. The cool morning air wafted in from the window that never got closed and the curtains flittered along the wall in a beautiful morning wind. The smell of coconut and fresh fruit wafted his way as he sat up in his bed.
Talita sat on a blanket splayed out across the carpet in the living room of the cabin, stirring a silver spoon around inside a small tea cup. Her long, bare legs were crossed and her eyes were closed as she inhaled the contents of the tea cup.
Edward sat on the edge of the bed not wanting to disturb such a beautiful sight. He etched it into his memory before she noticed him no longer asleep.
“Come here,” she said. Her smile was beaming and her eyes were bright.
He pulled himself from his bed and slipped on his pajama pants before accompanying her on the carpet. When he got to her, he grinned when he noticed her eyes cascade across his bare chest and down his stomach to his pants. He was always the modest one when it came to his body, but he did believe in healthy eating and exercise. It kept him fit.
“What do you have here?” He knelt next to her and grabbed a grape from the pile of fruit in front of them.
“I figured you would be hungry so I ordered some room service.”
He looked around the small smorgasbord of pastries and fruit she ordered and his stomach told him she was right. He molded his body around hers and enjoyed a sliced orange she fed to him with her delicate fingers.
“I could get used to this,” he said as a trickle of juice escaped over his lip.
Talita leaned over and slowly licked it from his chin, her eyes glued to his. She stayed there, only an inch from his mouth, her breathing controlled yet trembling. She wanted to say something, he could feel it. Her reluctance made him feel uneasy as if she was about to divulge something that shouldn’t be felt until weeks after loving someone, or something a naïve eighth grader would say to her crush. He cleared his throat and grabbed at the grapes, flinging them one by one at her as he rolled away.