The Millionaire Falls Hard

by Fredricks, Sarah

  *

  Carrie still couldn't work out how she'd allowed herself to be talked into going to the Mayor's Ball tonight. Over the last few days, she'd been coddled by her mother while Glenn had kept Charlie entertained, and she felt stronger and happier than she had when she'd arrived. She even had a bit more colour and was losing the gaunt look.

  When Glenn had arrived home the previous evening with the news that the business was sold, they'd broken out the champagne. In an alcohol induced haze, Carrie had had no defence against a dual onslaught to get her to make up the table number.

  Now she was out of the shower, she had to admit she was getting excited about dressing up for the evening in a posh frock and jewellery. It had been a while since she'd felt really feminine, not since that Awards dinner/dance in London in fact.

  She'd gone shopping this afternoon, and urged on by the shopkeeper, had bought a gown that felt divine on, if a little bit naughty. Suddenly, she had a desire to feel really, really naughty. 'Well Jake Calderwood, what would you say if you saw me tonight?'

  Ha! Even her embarrassment over Jake seemed a long distant memory now. Part of her confidence came from knowing he was on a different continent. This trip had definitely been good for her.

  She applied a glittering burnished brown eyeshadow and brown mascara to her eyes, and a high shine pale red lip gloss to her lips. Her hair was piled on top of her head with wisps left hanging all around to soften the look.

  As she looked at herself in the mirror, she started to feel sexy. That was a new feeling for her, which she didn't understand. She wondered how she would feel once the gown was on. Well, only one way to find out, she thought, and reached for the dress hanging on the back of her bedroom door.

  Carrie had a momentary lapse in her newfound confidence as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She almost didn't recognise the woman looking back at her. 'Oh. My. God. Can I really wear this gown?'

  Her confidence started to wain but before she could do more than question her sanity, her mother knocked at her door.

  *

  Jake had mixed feelings about being here. It would certainly be an expedient way to meet the movers and shakers in the local business and political scenes, but he wasn't sure if his focus for GB Dynamics would stay local when he planned to merge it with the New York operation. He was thinking the focus should be the length of the east coast. Still, he'd gone out and hired a dinner suit for tonight, and for convenience, moved into the penthouse suite in the hotel, so he was committed now.

  As he adjusted his cufflinks, the private lift pinged its arrival in the lobby. He parked his thoughts, put on his professional face and stepped out.

  With the ticket stating seven for seven-thirty, he'd cut it fine arriving at seven-twenty but he'd succumbed to a surprisingly refreshing nap. He glanced around, looking out for Glenn. There were a lot of people milling around, many in pairs and small groups. He noticed a good few men without a partner, who were making the most of their 'single' status by eying up others' partners. A quick glance round at the array of females and he could understand why they were looking.

  The back of one tall female caught his eye. He took a moment to admire the view. Wow! He might consider himself off the market, but he could still admire the female form.

  Wow, again! Bare skin from shoulders to waist, highlighted shapely shoulder blades and smooth skin over a straight back. At the waist, the shimmering bronze dress hugged hourglass hips as it fell straight down to the floor. A calf-high slit exposed sparkly gold stilettos. Jake chuckled, it looked like her partner was in for a treat later on tonight, if he could get through dinner first without salivating!

  'Jake! There you are.'

  Jake's head turned slightly to where he'd heard his name called. He realised it hadn't turned far from the golden goddess. Glenn started walking towards him with his arm around a slightly smaller, attractive woman.

  'Nice partner Glenn', he thought.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the golden goddess turn and also walk towards him.

  Jake momentarily froze with a welcoming smile fixed to his face as he realised that the golden goddess, was his golden goddess. From the look of shock on her face, she'd had no more idea than him that they were to be spending the evening together. Well, well, this evening just got very interesting. Business be damned, Jake had a new mission now.

  Two words. Carrie. Bed.

  'Jake, I'd like to introduce you to Suzanne, my partner and my rock. Suzie, this is Jake Calderwood, the new owner of GB Dynamics.'

  As Jake took Suzanne's hand and brought it to his lips for a kiss, Carrie caught up with them.

  He adjusted his focus. 'Carrie.'

  'Jake.' Carrie's reply was forced from her mouth.

  'You two know each other? Well how about that, it's a small world. When you said you lived in Scotland Jake, I nearly asked if you knew Carrie, but I figured Scotland covers a lot of land for a small country and your answer would just be 'no'. Next time I'll just ask and be damned. Honey,' he said, turning to Suzanne, 'these two know each other.'

  As Glenn stated the obvious, Jake and Carrie continued to look at each other. Suzanne, too, was looking and found the palpable rise in tension extremely interesting. She'd known there was something that Carrie hadn't shared.

  Carrie couldn't believe her bad luck that Jake was the man who had bought the company. All her new found confidence plummeted to the soles of her feet and squelched out of her killer heels. Suddenly feeling self-conscious she moved her hands up in front of her.

  Her movement broke the moment.

  Jake turned to Glenn and Suzanne. 'We're neighbours. I bought the Gemmell Estate around Carrie's land.'

  'Oh, Calderwood,' Suzanne mused. 'That name rings a bell. There was a couple who once worked on the Estate called Calderwood, they had a little boy they called Jake. She died I think…..'

  'My mother.' Jake intercepted. 'Carrie mentioned you'd worked for Lord Gemmell. It didn't click that you might have known my parents.'

  Suzanne showed surprise. If Jake knew where she'd worked, they obviously knew each other quite well. Carrie wasn't one for sharing personal information.

  'I didn't know them well. They were very private people, but I do remember their little boy, er you. You always had such a smile for everyone. What's your father doing now, is he retired?'

  'He died too. A long time ago.'

  Carrie listened to this exchange and realised that her mother was putting two and two together. She was a perceptive woman and had probably already worked out that Jake was the cause of much of her tension and tiredness.

  'Well, come on ladies, Jake, it's probably time we took our table.'

  Grateful for Glenn's intervention, Carrie started to move towards the ballroom.

  Jake put his hand on her arm to hold her back.

  'Are you on commission for the local hospitals Carrie?'

  Carrie just stared at him confused. 'What do you mean?'

  'Your dress. Or the lack of it. It's enough to give every man in the room heart failure. I thought the back provocative enough, with your bare back and the peak through to your shoes, but good grief, Carrie, there's next to nothing of the front!'

  From the waistband two pieces of material rose up like elongated pyramids and covered her breasts, each piece gathered in a gold ring at her collar bone before going up round the back of her neck to be caught in a clasp just below her hairline. The front of the dress from the waist fell straight to the floor like the back, only instead of a calf-high slit up the centre, this one seemed to go all the way to the top of her legs.

  Carrie bristled at the criticism. She'd had second thoughts herself when she'd studied the dress in the privacy of her bedroom but there was no way she would admit that to Jake.

  'This dress is the height of fashion just now. The saleswoman assured me….'

  'That you'd get a good lay tonight? It looks more in keeping with something a cheap tart would wear than someone
mingling with the elite of Miami society!'

  'How dare you!' Jake blocked her hand as it instinctively rose to slap him.

  'Not here sweetheart. Unless you mean to cause a scene tonight and embarrass your mother and Glenn?' Jake raised his eyebrows and waited for her answer.

  Carrie felt herself go a deep red as she realised what she had been about to do. She lowered her hand.

  With as much dignity as she could muster, she said. 'You're very wrong about the dress Jake. With an exorbitant price tag, not even a high class prostitute could afford this dress. Look around you. Other women are similarly attired.'

  Jake seethed with sexual frustration as he fought his desire to strip her of the dress now to prove his point.

  'No-one else is garnering the looks you are Carrie. I hope you're ready for the consequences of wearing that dress tonight.'

  With that obscure threat, Jake put his hand under her elbow and all but dragged her to their table.

  *

  Carrie sat in her seat, desperately trying to pull the front panels together over her lap. Because of the slit they kept falling either side, exposing both her legs.

  'What the hell had I been thinking when I bought this dress?' Trouble was, she hadn't been. She'd allowed herself to be carried along by the sales assistant, on her first fashion shopping trip in months. She'd been like a kid in a candy store. If she'd only sat down in it in the shop she definitely wouldn't have bought it. Jake was right, although she'd never tell him. It was clearly saying 'take me, I'm yours'. The material was so sheer she hadn't even been able to wear a thong, never mind panties. This was so not the event to make such an exhibition of herself. Not that she was the sort of person to do that anywhere. She was surprised her mother hadn't said anything at the house.

  Jake watched Carrie's futile attempt to cover her legs. As he watched her hands on her thighs, he turned as hard as stone. If he didn't know better, he'd swear Carrie was flaunting herself in front of him. But he did at least know her well enough to know she wouldn't do that. He took a deep breath, trying to get his sexual urges under control. It would be all too easy to rest his hand at the top of her thighs. The sexual tension between them was so strong, he'd bet the new company she'd orgasm in seconds. He groaned. The dress was driving him crazy with pent up need.

  He forced himself to look away from her lap. Everyone else seemed deep in conversation, except the man the other side of Carrie, who was all but salivating at what Carrie was doing.

  Jake reached out and grabbed her hands.

  'Enough! No amount of fiddling is going to get that dress to stay together.' He hissed at her. 'Your giving your neighbour a hard-on. I know that because it's precisely what I've got. So unless you want me to drag you out of here right this minute, I suggest you tuck yourself right in under the table cloth to cover up.'

  Carrie gave him a hard glare but did as he suggested. Jake glared across at the man the other side and raised his eyebrows in acknowledgement of what he'd been doing. The man reddened and hastily turned to his wife.

  'Wine madam?'

  'Oh, thank heavens for the wine waiter,' thought Carrie. 'A small glass of red please.'

  The meal seemed endless. Every time Carrie looked down at her plate, all she saw was her cleavage. The panels at the front of the dress were widely cut to show the swell of her breasts. She groaned again at her idiocy in buying the dress. It had looked fine when she'd stood up straight with her legs together in front of the dressing room mirror but it turned her into an invitation on legs when she walked in it. And when she sat down! Well she may as well have just stripped it off for all the good it was doing as an item of clothing!

  Out of the corner of his eye, Jake could see Carrie playing with her food and sipping her wine. He couldn't bring himself to turn to her. Looking at her turned him instantly hard and he was so sexually frustrated and mad at her that he didn't trust himself not to throw her across the table and take her in front of everyone here. He continued to make meaningless small talk with the woman next to him, who despite looking at least fifty, was coming on to him strong.

  For a while, the whole table shared one topic of conversation and Glenn introduced him as the new owner.

  Finally, the interminably tedious meal came to an end. Jake had no recollection of what he'd eaten, nor what it had tasted like. Whilst his mouth had been talking business, his brain had stayed in his pants.

  Jake sat back in his seat and glanced across at Carrie. Big mistake! She was sitting forward resting her forearms on the table which gave him a glimpse of the side of her breast. He closed his eyes. There didn't seem to be one part of that dress that decently covered her. He scraped back his chair and grabbed her arm.

  'Dance.'

  Lost in her own thoughts, Carrie jumped at the intrusion.

  'I see your manners haven't improved since the last dance we were at Jake.'

  'Didn't feel then as if you minded,' he muttered.

  'And that isn't all that hasn't improved, so unless you want to make a public spectacle of yourself, you'll dance. Now.'

  Carrie stood and went with him to the dance floor. He held her in his arms for a slow waltz.

  Jake breathed in the scent of her. With those heels on, she was almost the same height as him. He rested the side of his head against hers, drew her in tight against him and closed his eyes.

  At last! For the first time in what felt like forever Jake relaxed. Carrie in his arms seemed to centre him, make him feel that all was right with the world.

  'Carrie.' Her name came out as a whisper as he relished holding her in his arms again.

  He heard her sigh then relax against him. Seemed she felt the same. Her response spurred him on.

  'Feel what you do to me Carrie.' Jake tightened the arm he held around her waist to pull her hips in against his erection. Carrie tried to pull back, embarrassed.

  'Oh no you don't. Not any more. You knew this day would come.' Jake held her tight. 'Tell me you don't feel this too.'

  Silence. Despite the music. Despite all the people around them. Silence. He could almost hear her brain ticking.

  'Tell me Carrie!' He pulled her closer still, grinding his erection into her pelvis.

  'I can't.' She whispered it so quietly he wasn't sure he heard correctly, until she said it again.

  This time she looked him in the eye, and there he saw a reflection of what was surely in his own.

  For all that Carrie wished she could fight the attraction, she had to admit now that she couldn't any longer. She needed to know what it would be like, just once. Instead of feeling embarrassed she was on fire. Her blood was pumping through her veins so fast she felt she would burst.

  Jake waltzed her to the edge of the dance floor. Neither took their eyes from the other. He took her by the hand and led her out of the room.

  *

  As Jake punched in the code for the private lift, he placed his arm around Carrie and held her close to his side. It was a silent signal that said there was no way she was getting away this time. As the doors opened, he nudged Carrie in ahead of him. The doors were hardly closed before Jake turned her to face him and stared into her eyes.

  Passion.

  Need.

  A reflection of his own.

  Holding her arms, he pulled her closer. He plundered her mouth with a hunger so fierce he didn't think he'd make it to the bedroom. Months of pent up tension rushed through him. His hands moved down to her waist. There was no gentleness. Jake was so sexually wound up he could no longer think straight never mind slow things down. But Carrie matched his need, parting her lips to give him more intimate access. Jake needed no further encouragement. His tongue seductively licked her bottom lip, then caressed her teeth, before entering into a mating dance as Carrie's tongue reached out to do the same. Carrie tasted of the mango coulis they'd had with the dessert, sharp and sweet. Dear heaven!

  Jake was finding it hard to hold back. He physically ached with the need to pour his seed into Carrie, t
o commit the ultimate act of love.

  As Jake came up for air, he eased back to rain soft, sweet kisses along her jawline and down her neck. Carrie moved her head to the side to give him better access and raised her arms behind his neck. She moaned as he nipped her neck. She felt his touch all the way to her core. This was a new experience. She hadn't known that making love could be so consuming, would make all thoughts fly from her head. Knowing the effect she was having on him gave her a sense of power as she ran her hands through his hair. His mouth found hers once more and she grasped his head with both her hands, wanting his touch, needing the raging hunger of his mouth on hers.

  As her passion brought her close to release she matched Jake's need, sucking on Jake's tongue, holding it captive for a moment in her mouth.

  Jake thrust his tongue in and out as Carrie sucked and licked. Jake groaned as their mouths simulated what he wanted to do with his rigid shaft. He moved his hands up her sides and felt the soft swell of the sides of her breasts. Bare flesh! His thumbs moved inside the front panels of her dress, across her breasts and stroked her nipples. Hard buds met his touch.

  Desire flashed through him like sheet lightening. Pushing Carrie against the wall of the lift, he unzipped himself and released his engorged flesh. With his other hand he reached for the front of Carrie's dress intent on ripping off her panties.

  Red hot lust shot through his body like a bullet torn from a gun when he realised she was naked beneath. Naked and soaking wet.

  He rammed into her, unable to hold back. Unable to be gentle their first time. Carrie cried out with pleasured shock. Her hands spread out against the wall behind her to keep herself upright.

  He pulled back and thrust again, slamming her back against the wall. One more thrust and Carrie screamed her release. Another one and Jake exploded inside her. His aching shaft pulsed as he poured his seed into her hot body. Time seemed to stand still as he emptied himself.

  Finally, with that slaking of desire Jake felt all his pent up emotion drain away.

  He fought to get his breathing under control whilst continuing to feel the aftershocks of Carrie's orgasm.