Zane 2 (Pleasure Extraordinaire: Part 2)

by Liv Bennett

  “Oh, yeah?” My eyebrows raise in delight. “I love surprises.”

  “I know you do.” Covering my hand, she pulls it down her stomach and between her legs. The fabric of her satin blue dress is so soft, I can feel her clit throbbing beneath it. Her desire stirs my cock, and I push her against the wall, loving the sound of her panting while her body is squeezed beneath mine.

  Holding her lips close to mine, she moans softly and whispers, “You’ll have to wait until we get to your bedroom.” She looks up at me with dilated irises, her lips red, swollen, and parted. Her tongue moves slowly along the curve of her bottom lip, while her chest rises rapidly in shallow breaths.

  “I can’t wait that long.” Especially not when the flowery scent of her shampoo is intoxicating my mind.

  With one quick move, I gather the hem of her dress up her hips and pull her panties down just enough to slide my fingers along the lips of her pussy. As expected, she’s dripping wet and the heat of her folds invites me in with an irresistible force.

  I quickly unbuckle and unzip my dress pants and slide my cock out of my boxers. Grabbing her waist, I start to lift her up, but her hands circle around my wrists and stop me before I can wrap her legs around my hips. The elevator stops at that moment and the doors slide open.

  “Someone can see us,” she points out with a fearful tone. Stepping back to put a distance between us, she continues, “I have enough problems with your sexual recklessness, I don’t want the whole world to witness our lovemaking.”

  It’s not like someone can pass by and see us, since my penthouse is the only condo on the top floor. Even if that were to happen, Scarlet and I are engaged to be married, and we’d hardly be the first celebrity couple to share passionate moments in a semi-public environment.

  She straightens her dress and runs a hand through her hair that’s oddly enough always up in a bun these last few weeks. Mirroring her behavior, I tug my now semi-hard cock back in and zip up my pants. The unexpected tension between us empties the last drops of desire from my loins, leaving me with nothing but anger and frustration.

  She holds my hand as we walk out of the elevator and into my penthouse and doesn’t let go until we’re in my bedroom. With a hesitant smile, she lets go of my hand and turns to the bathroom. “I’ll be right back.”

  I watch her sway her hips in her seductive way, but somehow the sexuality oozing out of her body doesn’t turn me on as it usually does.

  I have enough problems with your sexual recklessness, I don’t want the whole world to witness our lovemaking.

  Her words resound in my mind over and over again. Although there’s factually nothing wrong with her statement, I can’t help the lump of disappointment forming in my throat.

  Is that what she thinks of me? An animal who can’t control his sexual urges? I foolishly thought she’d recognize the changes I’ve gone through as her lover, rather than judging me by my past mistakes.

  “Zane?” Scarlet asks, stopping cold in her tracks. “Do you still want to see my surprise?” Her eyes turn sad as they stare at me while I remain silent to her question. Although it gives me physical pain to see her sad, I can’t play along and pretend her earlier words in the elevator didn’t rub me the wrong way.

  Hurriedly, she spins on her heels and runs back to me. “I’m very sorry for rejecting you.” She smoothes my hair with gentle strokes. “It’s just, if someone records us having sex, my whole family will watch it, too, and I can’t allow it. I can’t embarrass them that way. Please understand me.”

  “Do I embarrass you?”

  “No!” she exclaims, a little too quickly, her voice a little too loud.

  I sigh, feeling my shoulders slump down in defeat. It’s clear she’s not exactly proud of having me as her fiancé, and I can’t blame her for that. She didn’t sign up to become a stepmother to my bastard child when she agreed to date me.

  “Scarlet, please be honest with me.” Holding her hands, I pull her toward the bed. “Do you really want us to happen?”

  “Yes, I do. I love you, Zane.”

  “What if the child is mine?”

  Her head drops, her body moving subtly as she inhales. She can’t lie this time.

  “Are you going to leave me if I’m the father,” I say the words she’s keeping from me.

  Her head raises abruptly, her face stern in response to my question. “I didn’t say that.”

  “What are you going to do if the worst-case scenario plays out?” I ask, already knowing the answer. She’s not cut out to be part of the life of a promiscuous man. I can’t hold it against her that she wants a husband and children of her own, without having to share them with another woman, but still, it hurts to realize her loyalty to me has its limits.

  “Let’s talk about it once we rule out you’re not the father,” she suggests sweetly.

  “That’s what you’re counting on?”

  She nods defiantly, lowering her eyes to my chest where she holds her hands.

  “But, I indeed left a condom full of my sperm with Theresa and the other girl. She could be carrying my child.”

  She covers her ears with both hands, her face wincing at the ugly truthfulness of my words. “I don’t want to hear about that,” she screams, so unusual for her.

  Realization hits me hard right then. She doesn’t love me truly. She loves a part of me, the nice, loving guy, but despises the rest of me. Yes, I’ve changed for the better, but my past will still be part of who I am. I won’t be able to escape my mistakes, my recklessness, the scars in my soul due to Michael’s abuses, and my broken heart from losing my mother to suicide. It’s all me. The details that make me the Zane I am today.

  She’s not interested in the true Zane. She just wants the good parts; the wealthy and famous CEO who can get any woman he wants.

  “Maybe we should break the engagement,” I suggest, watching her eyes widen in shock.

  “No! No! No! Please, that’ll ruin everything.”

  I wonder what everything constitutes for her. Her reputation? Her image as the supportive, loving fiancé to a wealthy bad boy? Her role as the lead character in the most popular TV show?

  I nod, although I have no idea what I’m nodding to, and slowly rise to my feet. “I need some fresh air.” I head to the terrace with a full bottle of vodka and settle on the lounge chair.

  CH 11 - The Breakup

  ~

  The sky is orange-red with the sun descending, and I can see a glimpse of the ocean on the west side of the building. I wish I could fight against the waves of the ocean right now and dip in the water only to have it wash away the problems in my life.

  Theresa, the baby, my fake fiancé.

  I can’t picture how I’ll continue being with Scarlet now that I know she’s not truly in love with me.

  There goes my fantasy woman. My sweet little submissive sex kitten. She had everything, I mean everything I could wish for in a woman. Beauty, respectability, femininity, compassion, sexuality. However, she fails in the most important area. Love. I can’t marry a woman who doesn’t love me truly. Even to save face in front of millions of people.

  Who’d have thought a shit-covered condom would show me Scarlet’s real feelings for me? That same condom will also make me a father. I’d laugh at it if I was in a good mood, but the amount of alcohol I’m gulping down right now saddens me rather them boosting my mood.

  Perhaps, it won’t be a complete loss if the child is really mine. Scarlet won’t want to stay with me—that’s for sure—but the child will at least have a stable father. The only thing I’ll lose is money, and I have millions of it.

  The sound of high heels against marble pulls me away from my thoughts. I can see Scarlet standing at the doorway, can hear her sob-filled deep breathing. She must have been crying in the bedroom the last few minutes while I’ve been drowning myself in alcohol. Turns out, I haven’t changed all that much since alcohol is the first thing I turn to when I’m faced with a problem.

  “Za
ne,” she says and pauses, perhaps to stifle a sob. “We can’t end it like this.” She walks around my chair and kneels beside my legs, gathering my hand between hers. There’re no tears on her face, but her messed-up makeup around her eyes is proof that she’s been crying. “I love you and you love me.”

  “It’s not enough.” Because it’s not true love.

  She thinks the feelings she nurtures for me are love, but she couldn’t be further from the truth.

  I place the bottle of bourbon on the table beside my chair and slide my finger along her jawline, her smooth skin momentarily distracting my line of thought. “You look at me and see how you can improve me and make me a desirable husband for you. But, that’s not how stable relationships work. I know I have flaws and I wish I didn’t have them. I’m working on them, but life has a way of reminding us of our true selves. Theresa’s baby is one example. No matter how much I try, there’ll be times I’ll disappoint you or myself. I need a partner who will stand by me when it happens, rather than despising me.”

  “I don’t despise you!”

  “You think you don’t, but in reality, you do. You’re counting on the outcome that the child isn’t mine.”

  “But, it’s a possibility,” she exclaims.

  “Yes, it is, but it shouldn’t matter whether the child is mine or not. Your love shouldn’t depend on an outcome. It should be unconditional.”

  She licks her lips and raises her hands to my face to wrap them around my neck. “My love is unconditional. I love you with my whole heart.”

  I smile despite the pain in my heart. I want to believe her, but she’s too young to recognize real love. “Picture this. The baby is born in two weeks and it turns out I’m the father. Tomorrow, I’m closing on a real estate property in North Hollywood and having a guest house built for Theresa and the kid beside mine. They’ll be practically living with me. Can you imagine yourself as my wife, dealing with my kid and the mother of my kid every day for the rest of your life? You don’t have to be best friends with Theresa, but I’ll expect you to love my kid as your own, just because he or she is a piece of me. Can you do that?”

  She suckles on her bottom lip, her eyes looking away. I can see she wants to say yes, but it’ll be just for the moment, to be able to keep me and save our relationship. But the truth is, my proposal is hard to swallow.

  I caress her hair and tug a strand of it behind her ear, knowing very well these might be the last moments of intimacy I’ll share with her. “I know this isn’t an ideal situation to start a marriage, but I can’t turn my back on my child, and I don’t trust Theresa. That’s why I have to keep her and the child close. I’m sorry I can’t give you the life you deserve, but I promise I’ll work very hard to keep you happy in other parts of our life…if you can promise to accept my child into your life. Can you do it for us?”

  “I don’t know what to say. On one hand, there’s you, the man I’m crazy in love with. And on the other hand, there’s the woman who might become the mother of your child. I…I don’t want to share you,” she explains, her voice apologetic.

  “That’s fair. You want to have a man with whom you can share the joy of starting a family without the involvement of a third person. I can’t begrudge you for wanting that, but I might not be able to give you that. I wish I could, but it might not be in the cards,” I say.

  “We can still experience that once we know you’re not the father.”

  I sigh and give my head a quick shake. There’s no point in beating a dead horse by discussing the same thing over and over again. Her partnership in our relationship is dependent on a negative result of the paternity test, and that kind of attitude is a big red flag for me.

  “I think we both need some time to think this through. I have to leave for a meeting. You can stay here if you want.” I stand and offer her my hand to help her to her feet.

  “I’d better go home.” Nodding, she follows me into the penthouse and gathers her purse and jacket. “Will you call me after your meeting?”

  “Sure,” I say hurriedly, although a part of me isn’t all that sure.

  CH 12 - The Temptation

  ~

  Daney pulls up and gets out to greet me. “Good evening, sir.”

  I stop him before he rounds the car to open the door for me. “Good evening, Daney. To Julie’s, please.”

  “Of course.”

  I text Julie to ask if she’s okay for an unexpected visit from me. She calls me the second after my text is sent.

  “Is everything all right?” Her voice is loud with panic as she speaks the words rather loudly. “Is it the baby?”

  “The baby is all right.” I chuckle. “I just need a friend.”

  “Uh-huh. Why? What happened?”

  “You’ll soon find out.” I hang up and serve myself a glass of the champagne that Daney keeps in the limo for me.

  Julie meets me at the elevators down in the garage, her arms tightly wrapped around her body, her eyebrows pulled together in curiosity. “What’s going on, Zane?” she asks as the first thing when I climb out.

  I keep quiet while I walk toward her, and when I’m in front of her, I shrug and say the five words I never imagined saying, “Scarlet and I are finished.”

  Her response is a quick and loud, “What?”

  I push the elevator button and stand without talking until the elevator doors open.

  “Are you going to speak or will I have to force words out of your mouth?” She elbows me when we enter the elevator.

  Her impatience lightens up my mood along with the effect of booze running through my veins. “The short version or the long?”

  “I have time.”

  “So, the long version?” I glance down at her playfully and she nods quickly. “Well, after you left, Scarlet and I started playing in the elevator.” My eyes search for the shock on her face, and she pleases me with a gaping mouth and wide-open eyes. Oh, let’s not forget the deep crimson of blush on her cheeks. “She told me she had a surprise for me. If there’s one thing I love about that girl, it’s that her surprises never disappoint. That got my attention immediately, of course. That and the pretty satin dress she was wearing.”

  Julie’s shock seems to be getting bigger than I originally aimed for because, now, her body is completely still, and I’m not sure if she’s even breathing. The mature way would be skipping the illicit details and coming to the main point.

  I’m not even an exhibitionist, but somehow sharing those private moments with Julie turns me on, despite the sour way the actual memory had ended. And it has an added benefit of making me forget about my pain more efficiently than the alcohol I downed.

  Rather pleased by her reaction, I continue to recite the details of my evening. “She pressed my hand between her legs through her dress. That did it for me. I went in directly for her pussy.”

  “Zane!” Julie covers her mouth, finally a move out of her—shock!

  “You gotta listen to the rest,” I insist, but the elevator doors open and she runs out toward her condo.

  Shaking my head, I walk through the doorway and close the door. She’s sitting on the far end of the couch in her living room, her hands crossed against her chest.

  “I’m sorry.” I signal with my hand toward the chair in a silent request for permission to sit. As soon as she nods her agreement, I continue. “I wish I could save you the horrendous details, but you need to know them to understand the whole conversation.”

  In some astounding way, she grins at me, while shaking her head with a note of disapproval at my madness. “Okay, but spare me the details about Scarlet’s private parts.”

  “Fine. So, where was I? Oh, yeah. Things were heating up between Scarlet and me in the elevator. I wanted more and went for more. I grabbed her legs to pull them up. I even had my pants unzipped and my johnnie out.”

  “Oh, God, Zane!” She laughs and covers her ears.

  “I was going in for the kill,” I continue, knowing she’ll be listening despi
te her covered ears. “But, she stopped me and told me, ‘I have enough problems with your sexual recklessness, I don’t want the whole world to witness our lovemaking.’”

  Her hands drop down to the couch while disbelief washes over her face. “She did not!”

  “Oh, yes she did!” I’m glad I don’t need to express my disappointment to Julie. “She sees me as a man of sexual recklessness. A walking and talking symbol of sexual recklessness.”

  “She’s not far off the point, but yeah, I understand your shock.”

  “Thank you!” I nod my head in gratitude.

  “She indeed had a surprise for you.”

  I chuckle. “You can say that.”

  “What happened then?”

  I give her the full version of the discussion I had with Scarlet, and Julie listens to me without interruption.

  “Wow. That…did not happen, did it?” she asks when I’m done explaining.

  “It did. I’m not the man she fantasizes about and it turns out she’s not the girl I wanted.”

  “But, you can’t split up with her now,” she protests and slides on the couch toward me. “You need her support now more than anything. If she stands by you, and you two carry out your marriage plans, the public won’t see you as a promiscuous guy. They’ll believe you’re changing for the better.”

  She cares about the public opinion and rightly so, since she’s my employee and has to make sure the company is positively represented to continue its place in the entertainment industry.

  I scoot forward on the chair, sitting on its edge, and move my arm to the armrest of the couch where Julie is sitting. “If the baby isn’t mine, Theresa will be out of my life, but if the child is indeed mine, Scarlet won’t stay with me. Perhaps she’ll keep the engagement for a few more months to save face, but she won’t be in it for the long haul. And, personally, I believe she shouldn’t. She’ll be better off with a guy of her moral standards. I’m not that guy. I made myself believe I could become that guy, but in the end, no matter what I do, I’ll be the same promiscuous and problematic guy. The whole situation is unfair to her and to me.”