At a break later in the afternoon, the whole crew raved about her glamor shots that day.
"Unbelievable," Max marveled. "You were great all along, but now you positively glow. It must be that you're more relaxed. You look, if you'll pardon the expression, like a woman who's been made love to. You were a sex symbol before, but now, you look approachable, not remote."
Even Bruce and Joe agreed. "You have an unreal glow about you," said Bruce.
Suzanna tried to hide her embarrassment. One glance at Candy and she realized that she had fathomed the secret of her loved look. Suzanna couldn't help feeling a bit ridiculous. Who was she kidding? Succeeding in a man's world, indeed!
Could anything be more sexist than what I'm doing? she asked herself. True, the campaign idea had been hers, but she had allowed herself to be taken over, and she had primped, pirouetted, and pouted with the best of them.
"Fantastic!" exclaimed Joe as they put the wrap on the campaign later that afternoon. "These last shots will be the clincher. Today, you had that 'Take me, I'm yours' look. It never quite came off until now."
Candy gave Suzanna a knowing look and smiled approvingly.
But the idyll had come to an end all too quickly. Much as she longed to linger, there was much to do once they got back home. They all had to run to their rooms to finish packing and get to the launch.
She looked regretfully at the beach where it had all started as she packed the last of her things. Quentin had hardly managed to say one word all day to her. Was it going to end once they got back to New York?
She tried to dispel this gloomy thought, but all the same, she knew she and Quentin would have to keep working together, and their lives in the Big Apple were very different from the fantasy one they had created for themselves here. The trouble was, would their relationship blossom once they got back home, or wither on the vine?
Once they got to the airport, there was a bit of confusion over the seating. The rest of the party was spread throughout the plane, but Suzy and Quentin were seated together in first class thanks to Bruce and Candy insisting they take the seats together, ostensibly so they could work on the way home.
Suzanna gave Candy a grateful smile, and decided to be selfish for once and accept.
They sat silently side by side watching their plane surge into the sky. It seemed to go beyond words, their sadness at leaving. They simply held hands and dozed off and on all the way to New York. Suzy was reluctant to speak for fear of breaking the spell, and prayed with all her heart that what they had shared the night before would be the start of something special between them, not fizzle out into an anti-climax.
When the plane landed at one o'clock, they decided on an ordinary yellow cab rather than limousine service. They offered to share, but everyone seemed to be paired up and going to the other boroughs, so they said goodbye to Candy, Helene, and the working crew, and promised to get together for a bash during the holidays when the campaign was over.
With kisses and hugs all around, they said goodnight, and got into their cab bound for Manhattan, and headed for Suzanna's apartment.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
"Suzy," Quentin said suddenly, when they were settled in the cab. "Is there any reason why you have to go home tonight?"
She stared at him. "No, not really. No one expects me. Why?"
"Because I'd like to take you home with me. I want to see you in my home. I want to undress you in my bedroom. I want to make love to you in my bed. My life has been so empty without someone special in it, and I don't want to live that way any more."
She tossed her head pertly. "You can't mean that. I understand you have more female friends than pandas have bamboo."
He chuckled at the comparison. "I'll admit there have been a fair few, but I meant it when I told you I'd never brought them home. I've gone to their apartments or to hotels. Somehow I always knew there'd be someone special. I wanted to be able to bring her to a clean bed with no memories of other sexual encounters."
"I'm glad I won't be haunted by ghosts of former loves. Where do you live? I've often tried to picture you some place outside office hours, and once I even looked up your phone number, but didn't notice the address."
"I have an apartment on Riverside Drive overlooking the Hudson, just south of the George Washington Bridge."
"That sounds beautiful, but you have a long trip every day."
"Yes. It means I have to get up early. Most times I take the bus, but when I'm running late I rely on cabs."
She nodded. "I would love to come see your home."
Quentin gave the cab driver the new address, and then sat back with a sigh.
They nestled closely together, and occasionally he brought her hand up to his lips and kissed each finger. They were enchanted with one another, there was no other way to describe the sense of wonder every time they touched. It all felt so perfect, she was in heaven, and couldn't wait to get him home.
The ride seemed to take forever, but at last they pulled up in front of his building. The driver placed their luggage on the curb, and Quentin paid him. Wheeling their cases, the lovers started eagerly for the door.
There was a quiet elegance about the building. It was obviously old but clean, and had been remodeled recently, she could see.
They took the elevator to the fifth floor, where Quentin opened his door and showed her into his apartment.
It was spacious and masculine, with deep leather chairs and a sofa in burgundy, floor to ceiling bookshelves, some good prints on the paneled walls and one solid wall with a huge projection TV and a bank of VCRs and DVD players, as well as a state of the art sound system.
There was also a beautiful little organ.
She pointed accusingly. "You've been holding out on me! You play too."
"But not nearly as well as you."
The carpeting was deep shag in a light brown, and seemed to stretch for miles in the spacious apartment.
Quentin was done with the tour, and led her directly to his bedroom. A king-size bed in dark oak dominated the room. The dresser and wardrobe were equally impressive. The drapes and spread were rust-colored damask.
"I'll show you the rest of the place in the morning," he said as with a smile of anticipation he took her coat and hung it next to his in the walk-in closet.
Suzanna had slipped out of her shoes and was opening her overnight bag when his arms came around her slender waist.
"You won't need anything out of that tonight," he told her gently as he turned her toward him and started to undress her.
"What, not even a toothbrush?"
"I took the liberty of buying a couple of spares just in case you did me the honor of coming to stay some time."
"It's you doing me the honor, darling. Thank you."
As he unzipped her dress, she unbuttoned his shirt. He slipped the dress from her shoulders and let it fall to the floor. She pulled his shirt from his trousers and buried her face in the soft black curls on his chest while she tugged down his zipper.
Quentin began inching her slip up over her hips and inserting his hands into her panties. In one motion he had them down around her knees.
Suzy co-operated by stepping back from him so that he could remove them all the way. In the meantime, she had eased him out of his black boxer briefs and removed his shirt. He lifted her slip over her head, and at last they were free and unencumbered.
He saw her as though for the first time. "You are perfect."
"So are you. Seeing you like that arouses some primal instinct in me. I can't believe that all these years I was terrified by a part of a man's body that I now love because it's part of your body."
Her breasts filled his hands as he pressed her gently back onto the bed. One arm circled her neck as he drew her mouth to his in a kiss that seemed to join their souls. He let his other hand travel down her body to the spot of her greatest sensitivity and stroked it to frenzy.
Suzanna had followed suit and her hands soon brought him to a state of exci
tement matching her own. Everything had seemed to come so naturally, but she wanted to learn too.
"Tell me if what I'm doing is right, my darling. I want to learn all there is to know about making love. So far, I've just tried to do what you do. If there's anything else I should know to please you, will you teach me?"
"My sweet, innocent love, you seem to have an instinct for doing the right thing. But do you really want me?"
"I do want you, more than I ever thought possible. Come into me now, please," she gasped.
She guided him unerringly to the exact spot, and with one stroke, he was deep inside her. Once more they rose to the heights, mouth to mouth, breast to breast.
Suzanna opened her thighs wide and wrapped her legs around him, working with him toward a mutual climax once more. So far, it had happened every time. They were completely compatible in every way, she decided somewhere in the back of her love-befuddled mind.
When they were spent, weary and drenched with perspiration, he brushed her hair away from her face and said, "I suppose most new lovers say this, but there's never been a lover like you. You're fantastic. You almost make me wish I had more experience."
She giggled. "Since you're my one and only, I have no method of comparison. But I know that no one in the world could complete me as you do."
"Complete? I'm glad. I felt so, well out of control, that I thought I was going to tear you apart."
She looked around the bed. "It does rather look like a hurricane has been through here, doesn't it?"
Quentin grinned and pulled her to him for a long kiss. The storm grew once more, and they took another trip to paradise.
Floating back down to earth at last, they whispered loving endearments to one another as they remained coupled lying on their sides until sleep finally claimed them.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
It was daylight when they awoke, and smiled happily at one another.
"Get up and let me look at you, love," Quentin requested.
Suzanna wasn't quite used to having him examine her in broad daylight, but she complied, shyly at first, then more daringly as he asked her to turn this way and that, reveling in the tilt of her breasts, the flat abdomen, her beautifully molded hips and buttocks.
"I still can't believe it," said Quentin."How could I not have known what you were hiding under those tents you wore?"
"I was pretty careful. But I knew what you were hiding from me first time you kissed me. Not only that, I had this terrible urge to unzip you to confirm my observations. Do I sound shameless?"
He laughed heartily. "You most certainly do. I love it."
She moved beside him on the bed once more. She slid her hand between his thighs and rubbed the two globes that hardened to her touch. She watched as he swelled with desire once more. He searched for and found her zone of pleasure and soon they were ready to ascend the heights yet again.
He rolled on top of her as he placed warm kisses all over her face and neck. Opening his mouth on hers, they indulged in a twining of tongues.
He slipped easily into her, then slowly withdrew partly only to re-enter, teasingly, then faster and faster as she rose to meet him, experiencing the rising tide of emotion At last, with a burst of uncontrollable passion, they reached climax together in an earthshaking paroxysm of sheer delight. Their mouths were pressed together, but not enough to suppress their mutual outcry.
They rested briefly in each other's arms, then, pleasantly relaxed from their love-play, they showered together, dried one another, put on robes, and went to the kitchen to get breakfast.
"Do you want to do the cooking, or shall I?" asked Quentin.
"I'll do it if you show me where everything is," answered Suzy,
Quentin started to mix the orange juice while Suzanna put on the bacon. They collaborated on a breakfast designed to restore their flagging strength. There was much affection plus a lot of horseplay both in preparation and clean-up. She was sure she had never been so happy. The joy of loving and being loved was all she had hoped for, and more.
Finally, Quentin looked at the clock and groaned as he realized they'd have to get a move on to arrive at the office by noon. No one would expect them much before that because the plane had gotten in so late, but it would cause comment if they both didn't turn up at all.
"If we hurry, maybe we can drop my things off at my apartment. I need a change of clothes, and all the stuff in my cases is only for summer."
"Fine. And while we're there, you can pack a few things. Then we can spend the next couple of days here, if that's okay with you. The film we took will be showing starting the first of the month, and I'd like to see them on my big projection screen."
"Are you sure they'll be on so soon?"
"Positive. Wait until this footage hits the airwaves. That product will move like no other ever has before-and we owe it all to you."
All the time they'd been talking, they'd been dressing and he had been unpacking. Quentin now called car service, and soon they were on the way back to their work-day world, with Suzy glowing with what she was sure had not just been stupendous sex, but true love.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Once back at her apartment, Suzanna hastily chose a middle ground between Sexy Suzy and sensible Suzanna. Her suit was boxy but becoming, her make-up light and her hair up but looser and softer. She put a few things in a small bag which looked more like a briefcase than a suitcase, and then they were ready to go.
Suzanna thought it would look better if they didn't arrive together, so once they were in front of their building, Quentin went to buy a paper and have a second cup of coffee, while she went directly to her office.
Sharon was still at lunch, so Suzanna arrived comparatively unobserved, and tucked the bag in her closet out of sight.
She had just hung up her coat when she heard Sharon at her desk.
"Hi, Sharon!" she called out. "How are you?"
Sharon was delighted to see her, and was full of questions which Suzy promised to answer at lunch the next day.
"It all went well, but I've goofed off long enough," she said. "I want to get back to work before Mr. Pierce gets here."
"What time did you get back?" asked Sharon.
"The plane landed at one and I got home around two-thirty. I could sleep for a week."
"You picked up a great color. Did you get in much time at the beach?"
"Practically all of it was at the beach, with almost nothing on, as you'll see in the commercials if they get past the censors."
"Glad it went so well, and I'm sure it was hard work despite the gorgeous location."
"Thanks for always being so supportive and not catty. How about you, how's Jerry?"
"Great." The redhead grinned from ear to ear.
"Terrific news. But listen, I've really got to go now. I have heaps on the desk waiting for me. See you at lunch tomorrow."
She had just reached her desk when she heard Quentin arrive. Hearing his deep voice stirred memories that made her blush and burn.
He exchanged pleasantries with Sharon, then said, "Give me a chance to get my coat off and my notes out, then come in with your pad. I have some letters to get out."
"Five minutes OK, Mr. Pierce?"
"That will be fine, Sharon."
He continued on to his desk, saying, "Good morning, Suzanna," along the way.
She answered with a casual, "Good morning," and kept on working, though she could feel a blush scorching her cheeks at the recollection of all they had shared last night.
For the next hour, Suzanna could hear him dictating and giving instructions to Sharon. It nearly drove her mad to be so close, yet so far.
It was difficult to concentrate when the rise and fall of his voice did strange and wonderful things to her. In her mind, she could hear again the words of love and passion he had poured into her ear as he had made love to her with every part of his body. She felt again his touches as he explored the new-found wonders of hers.
Suzanna's
reverie was interrupted by Sharon's goodnight, and then the working day was over. Now she waited for him to come to her. She knew he would, if his aching and yearning was equal to hers.
Within seconds after Sharon had left, he was standing in her doorway.
"This was the longest afternoon I've ever spent," he confessed with a ragged sigh. "Knowing you were in the next room only a few steps away was frustrating. Pictures of you kept popping into my mind."
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