by Sophia Lynn
Marianna was not a woman who climaxed quickly, but much to her surprised, the pleasure welled up faster than she would have thought possible. When she might have shied away from sensations that were so very strong, he held her in place effortlessly. He seemed to want her to feel this pleasure, and she was helpless in the face of his desires and his power.
She felt every part of her body straining up to meet his, wanting more and more. He could sense her desperation, and his fingers moved more quickly, making her cry out in shock and amazement at her body’s reaction to his ministrations. She needed him, she had never needed someone more. He leaned down to kiss her, pressing his tongue between her lips and making her moan.
That was what she had needed. Something about the alchemy between his fingers and his mouth broke her utterly. The pleasure crashed down on her like lightning, and she went up in flames. The heat flashed over her, and the sensations made her feel as if she had been opened to something new and strange.
Her legs tightened hard around his hand, and she buried her face in his chest, hanging on to him for dear life. She shook hard, and was cried out. She knew he was the only safe place in a world on fire.
“Please, please, please,” she was whispering. She pulled him to her, riding out the waves of pleasure until they were only small wavelets lapping upon the shores of her body.
“That’s my beautiful girl. That’s my sweetheart,” he murmured, stroking her hair. “Look at how lovely you are. Look at how perfect my sweet Marianna is…”
The words were a balm to her spirit, soothing her after the tumult of their passion. When she got her breath back, she looked up at him, her eyes wide.
“I want you,” she said simply. She didn’t have the words to say she needed him to experience just what she had. She didn’t have the capability to tell him that she wanted him with her for the most passionate interlude of her life. Despite the fact she could not say those things, he understood, and he knelt between her legs.
For a long moment, he simply looked at her. Marianna knew she was a sodden mess on the bed in front of him, splayed out in her pleasure and completely unable to resist anything more he wanted to do to her. She glanced down at his erection, and she knew, even exhausted, she wanted him. She needed him with her, and silently she reached up to him, entreating.
He reached over and pulled a condom from the drawer of the nightstand. She took it away from him, tearing the foil open and retrieving the latex inside. Marianna bit her lip as she smoothed the sheath down his cock. She loved the way his steel-hard flesh felt under her hands, and the deep groan she pulled out of him made her shiver. He was patient as she rolled it down his cock, but the moment the condom was on him securely, he pinned her to the bed, kissing her with wild abandon.
“You liked teasing me just then,” he growled, his eyes mere inches from hers.
“So what if I do?” she asked, and she was rewarded with a slight, pleasurable tweak of her nipple.
“Well, then, you are going to get what you deserve.”
He took a firm grasp on her panties, and with a single strong pull, tore them straight from her body, leaving her bare before him. Her moan was pure passion, and before she could move he was on top of her, entering her body with a single, strong thrust.
If she were thinking, she’d have been worried about being too sore right after her climax. It had been a while for her, and she might have been concerned about pain. However, her night with Nikolos was something new and exciting, and instead, all she felt was pleasure. When he sank into her, she felt complete, as if she were made for this, as if he was made for her.
“You feel like perfect heaven,” he growled in her ear, nipping at the lobe.
Marianna would have replied, but then he started to move. His motions were slow and smooth at first, but then she hooked her legs over his, wordlessly pulling him toward her as much as she could.
“I need you,” she whispered. “I need you so much.”
She didn’t know whether it was her words or her motions that broke through his resolve. Suddenly he thrust into her hard, nearlyg pushing her into the headboard. She braced herself and thrust back up at him, needing more and more with every moment that went by. She felt filled, she felt owned, she felt like a perfect heaven.
The trembling caught her by surprise, but by the time she recognized it for what it was, it was far too late. The pleasure cascaded through her body, sending her higher and higher just as it had the time before. She tensed, and she knew he felt it. She was shaking, trembling. She felt as if her entire being burst into a million tiny pieces as she climaxed again. Pleasure and sensation poured through her body.
He followed just a moment after, every muscle on his frame going rigid as he shuddered with his own release. She clung to him, because in that moment, she was not sure she had ever needed another person more. He was with her, he was present, and he was so, so important to her.
She buried her face in his chest, breathing in the healthy male scent of him. Hazily, Marianna thought she wanted nothing more than to have that moment stretch on forever. It had to end, however, and finally, he rolled away. She murmured a protest, but let him go.
When he was in the bathroom, washing up and disposing of the condom, she sat up in bed. The pleasure still echoed through her body, but now a chilling thought speared through her mind.
What have I done?
The man she was meant to be writing about was in the bathroom, likely washing off the traces of their tryst. Whether she wanted to or not, she was involved with him now, and even if it never happened again, this night had tainted her objectivity beyond repair.
She shivered, hugging herself. There were words for journalists who got too close to their clients, and they weren’t kind. Marianna climbed out of bed, picking her clothes up from where they had fallen in a heap. She winced when she got to her panties, which were a lost cause, but the rest were decent enough to get her home.
Did I really think I could have this night without my work suffering? However, she knew what the truth was. She knew that she hadn’t been thinking at all. She had only been feeling, feeling all of the amazing sensations that were rushing through her. But it was over now, and she was left with a cold feeling that seemed to go right through her.
She was doing up her bra when there was the sound of movement behind her.
“What are you doing?” Nikolos asked mildly.
When she turned to look at him, her heart ached. He was naked in the doorway to the bathroom, leaning one shoulder against the door frame with a kind of casual charm. She knew he was a handsome man, but sexually satisfied, he had a glow around him that made him completely gorgeous.
“I think I need to get back to my hotel,” she said, and he raised his eyebrow.
“Can I ask why?”
She took a deep breath.
“Because this never should have happened. Because everything I wanted to do is compromised now, and I don’t even know if I can get it back. Because I am afraid that I have made an utterly enormous mistake and…”
She stuttered to a halt because saying those things was bringing a lump the size of a dolmades to her throat. There was nothing that could excuse what she had done, and the more she thought about it, the closer to tears she became.
Nikolos cocked his head in confusion at her words, but he knew what to do. He crossed the room, and with a gentle murmur of comfort, he took her in his arms.
“You do not have this job because of how beautiful you are,” he said. “You have this job because it was decided that you are the best at what you do. If Philip has faith in you, then so do I. I do not believe that you will write anything that will embarrass or shame me any more than I deserve, no matter what we have done here together.”
“Do you really believe that?” she asked anxiously. She couldn’t stop herself from hanging on to him, even as she knew it was not good for her.
“I do,” Nikolos responded firmly. “I assume that you are not writing
erotica, so this little encounter won’t make it into the article. But so far? I think you have seen me more clearly than anyone else in the world has, even the people who have known me far longer. I would hate to lose that simply because we shared a little pleasure.”
“A little pleasure…” she echoed dubiously. Was that all it was?
“A lot of pleasure,” he amended with a grin. “But truly. I do not see anything here to be upset about. You are not trying to coerce me into showing you a side of myself that I don’t want you to see. I am not trying to seduce you into portraying me in a better light. After that, what else matters?”
“Nothing,” she said, and he grinned.
“Exactly right. If you want to leave, I will not stop you. I will be saddened and disappointed, but I know that we could continue as if nothing had happened. Alternately…”
“Alternately?”
“Alternately, you could stay. We could enjoy each other further, and we could sleep together. I think I would greatly enjoy sleeping with you. In the morning, I suggest we take the day off. Surely even journalists and ghostwriters take the day off?”
“I have been known to indulge on occasion,” she said with a small smile.
She was shocked by how much better she felt. There was still a lingering doubt in her mind, but it was easy enough to banish, especially when she found herself being taken back to bed by the man she had wanted ever since she’d laid eyes on him.
As he started to kiss her again, she felt that now-familiar surge of pleasure pulse through her. There was something wonderfully intimate about what they were doing, beyond the physical. Even though she had only known Nikolos for a short time, there was something in her that recognized him, something that felt him and called him home.
“You promise that you do not think less of me for this?” she said.
He pulled back for a moment to study her. She knew very well how she looked, flushed with pleasure, her auburn hair tangled and a longing look in her eyes.
“You are a gorgeous, intelligent woman who has captured my gaze and my interest since the moment I saw you. The more time I spend with you, the more time I want to spend with you. At the end of the day, this is what I have wanted, and I am incredibly pleased that you are here. I am also humbled that such a clever and worldly woman wants to spend her time with me. I would never think less of you for giving in to the pleasure that we can share together.
“Perfect answer,” she said with a smile, and she pulled him to her.
It wasn’t just a perfect answer, she thought. He was perfect, and when they were together, what they had was everything she had ever wanted.
Chapter Five
Nikolos moved from sleeping to wakefulness quickly when his phone chimed. For a moment, he had a brief feeling of deja vu, but then when he looked down to see Marianna curled against him, he realized he had never been in this emotional place before.
The feelings he had for this woman were profound. She made him a better man, he realized, and in many ways, he liked it. The idea that he wanted to change for her was disturbing in some ways, but at the end of it, he knew he was drawn to her for that very reason.
He looked at the text with a frown. It was Philip, and there was a matter at the palace that required his attention. He supposed it was fair. He had been putting off this particular issue for some time. Of course, now he had put it off for so long he had to leave his warm bed and Marianna to come in first thing on a Saturday morning.
Nikolos wondered if he could put it off even longer, but he realized that likely wasn’t an option. The last thing he wanted was for Philip to show up at his penthouse the way he had a few times in the past. While it might be amusing to imagine his mother’s assistant confronted with his ghostwriter still in bed, it wasn’t really something he would allow to happen.
Be there in forty minutes, he texted back, and sighed.
He slipped out of bed and ran through the shower quickly. When he came back to the bedroom, it was even harder to pull himself away from Marianna. She had shoved off the covers while she slept, and now she was sprawled on her back. She was uncovered to the waist, and her glorious, flame-colored hair spread out over her pillow.
It took all the willpower he had not to climb back into bed with her. He comforted himself with the fact that as soon as he was done, he would be able to come back and spend the entire weekend with her. That thought alone put a spring in his step.
He wrote her a note and placed it on her phone. Then, with a gentle kiss to the top of her head, he made his way to the door.
This could be the start of something, he thought with a grin. What, he couldn’t say, but he knew that he hadn’t been this happy in a very long time.
* * *
Marianna awoke with a feeling that something was wrong. She realized the bed was empty. Nikolos was gone. She looked around, briefly alarmed, but then she saw the note on her phone.
Good morning, beautiful!
I’m sorry I was not here when you woke up. I was unexpectedly called to the palace to deal with a matter that I have been putting off for too long. Don’t worry, it’s nothing interesting or I would have woken you up. As it is, I should be back some time in the midafternoon. You are of course free to go wherever you like, but I would dearly love to find you waiting for me when I get back.
In the meantime, feel free to order room service from the restaurant below, to investigate the shops in the neighborhood, and to snoop as you like. I figure this is a grand opportunity for my ghostwriter to dig up the real dirt.
Do as you please, and I cannot wait to see you again!
— Nikolos
She smiled at his brash, bold scrawl, as she tucked the note securely into her purse. It was a glimpse at a more playful version of him. Though she certainly would not be putting their encounter into her article, she realized their night together had brought her to a much better understanding of who he was as a man. Underneath the careless playboy facade, there was something deep and enduring. There was something that responded to kindness and patience, that she suspected could love fiercely.
I want him, she thought before she could stop herself. She realized that it was true. There was something that drew her to him, and now she knew that it was more than his looks or his money. It was the essence of the man she was growing to know.
She pushed the thoughts away, because she was, after all, still lying naked in his bed.
Instead, Marianna made her way to his bathroom, which she had only seen in passing. It was a marvel of marble and gold, and when she slipped into the shower, she found that the entire ceiling above her dropped rained down upon her. It was like showering in a gentle thunderstorm, and it took a great deal of willpower not to sink into the tub itself, where she could see jets that would turn the tub into a whirlpool. Perhaps Nikolos would be interested in showing the whirlpool to her later…
She got out of the tub to find that she was ravenously hungry. Timidly, she found the menu next to the phone, and to her dismay, there were no prices.
Well, if worse comes to worst and I order something to expensive, he can tell me how much it costs, she thought. Even as she said it to herself, she realized he never would. The woman on the other end of the line seemed completely unsurprised to hear a young woman’s voice; she responded that the food would be up very quickly.
While waiting for the food, Marianna took time to wander through the penthouse. She had seen modern design articles that discussed its graceful lines and gorgeous monochromatic patterns, but they had never spoken about how chilly it was. She hadn’t noticed when he was there, but there was something lifeless about the place.
Like it’s a place where someone sleeps, but not a place where someone lives…
The thought stuck with her. It felt like a piece of a puzzle snapping into place. She didn’t have all of the pieces, not yet, but now she could see the picture. She wished for her laptop, but it was across town in her hotel room.
The doorbell at th
e elevator chimed, and when she found the release button, a young woman in the black uniform of the hotel came in with a covered dish. Marianna managed to prevent herself from saying it was just like in the movies. As the young woman got into the elevator, she cast a curious glance back at Marianna. With a sinking stomach, Marianna hoped the staff of building was discreet. There was nothing she could do at this point if they were not.
To soothe her worries, she dug into the food with a vengeance. It was hot and delicious, but her mind was on the article she was going to write. The manNikolos who smiled for the cameras and dutifully went to endless charity benefits and meetings he was expected to go to was a good man. However, so was the Nikolos who had so effortlessly charmed her in Los Angeles. They were one and the same, and some part of her relished bringing that reality to people who might have dismissed him before this.
She finished the food, and though she was tempted by the shops below, she wanted to get some thoughts down on the subject before she forgot too much. She turned her phone on only to realize that there was a new email message for her.
It’s probably just Opal or Mei poking me to see if I’m doing all right, she thought to herself. Secretly she wished it was Nikolos, though there was no reason for him to send an email when he could simply ring her up.
The email was titled “What You Should Know.”
The subject line alone was spooky enough to send shivers up her spine. She did not recognize the sender, but something prevented her from simply deleting the email. She had a journalist’s instincts still, and suddenly she felt a tingle at the base of her neck. Something in that message was going to change her.
Biting her lip hard, she clicked on the missive.
You do not know me, the email began, and we are not friends. However, we have someone in common, someone that you are disposed to think well of. I know, much to my and my family’s pain and regret, that you should not do so. Please. You may be our only hope for justice in this world. Meet me at the All World Cafe at noon. It is easy to find downtown. Please. Please.