by S. L. Siwik
“In that case, I do have one condition. For the length of this arrangement, I don’t want you with anyone else. No boyfriends, no lovers, no one night stands. Just me.”
“Will you be held to the same standard?” I ask, the question slipping from my tongue before I can stop myself.
His brow arches. “Should I be?”
“Well, my guess as to why you want this condition is to protect you from any STDs, which I understand completely. But, shouldn’t I be given that same assurance?” I ask. “My health and my life is just as important to me as yours is to you.”
“How many men have you been with?” he asks, his demeanor cold.
“In total? Throughout my entire life? I don’t know. I didn’t keep count,” I reply. “You already know that the last man was before I started working for you.”
Surprise flitters across his face. “So, what are you going to do with the extra cash?”
I glance away. I don’t want to be reminded of Kendall right now. “Pay bills.”
“Anything I should know about? Addictions, loan sharks, any trouble you’re in?” he asks.
I grit my teeth. “No.”
“You sure about that?” he asks with his arms crossed.
I glare at him. “With all due respect, sir, you’re paying to either fuck me or for me to help you run your business successfully. That doesn’t entitle you to personal questions. I have no addictions, no loans sharks after me, and I’m not in any kind of trouble.” To remind him of what kind of relationship this is exactly, I unzip the front of my leather dress before placing my hands on my hips. “Does that answer your questions?”
His eyes take in my body slowly. “Some,” He licks his lips. “but, not all.”
“Then are we done here with the interrogation?” I ask, my voice barely containing my seething rage. I’m not sure what I’m pissed about anymore. I have just been given everything that I wanted in the last five years- weekly sex with the man I’m secretly in love with and more money. So, why do I want to yank my hair out and scream into the night until I’m hoarse?
“Five years ago…” I hear him murmur to himself absentmindedly while glancing out the window. I would give anything right now to be able to read his mind. Finally, his eyes trail up my body again before meeting my questioning gaze. “You should be given the same assurance. If you will agree to the condition of being with no one else, so will I.” He reaches across the seat, placing my hand between both of his. “I don’t want to be with anyone one else but you.”
I am barely able to stutter out the reply, “Okay,” because the intensity of his gaze is holding me hostage.
A smile spreads across his lips, reaching his eyes. The man is mesmerizing even when he frowns, but when he smiles so brightly, it’s amazing enough to knock me right off my feet.
“So, the only thing that needs to be decided now is where we’re going.”
“I…I don’t know. What are the options?” I ask.
“How about The Pearl?” he suggests. “I’ve never been there before. It’ll be a neutral ground of sorts.”
“Neutral ground?” I ask. “Are we preparing for war?”
He smiles good-naturedly, and I’m glad that he seems to have a sense of humor. It only makes him sexier.
“I just thought that it would be easier for you, since I hadn’t been there either.” He runs his hand through his wavy, black tresses. “Thought it would be easier for us to slip into this.”
I smile, the nervousness making my humor come out. “Well, I’m a fan of anything that makes it easier for you to slip into me.”
His smile morphs into unrestrained desire as though he wants to devour me. “So am I. So, may I assume that you’re fine with The Pearl?”
I nod. “Sounds good to me.”
“Daniel,” Mr. Townsend calls out, “Please take us to The Pearl Hotel.”
“Yes, sir.”
I feel a shooting pain in my foot, and take off my heel, rubbing my sole.
“I don’t know how you ladies wear those things. I don’t mean to sound unappreciative, because I appreciate the effort, but they look painful,” he says.
The anger inside dissipates at his words, and I giggle, rubbing my foot. “I think it’s one of the reasons why women are born with a higher pain threshold.”
“Take them off,” he says, smiling.
I slip the other heel off. “This is where it starts. First, the shoes come off, then the top, next thing you know you’re down to nothing but your womanhood.”
He picks up my foot, massaging the sole. The moment his fingertips press against my foot, currents of electricity run from my foot up my leg, the energy pulsating in my sex.
“Not yet. That will come later.”
His confidence and self-assurance are so sexy that the heat pooling between my thighs has no chance of waning. The way he speaks, I know that I don’t have a prayer trying to deny him…anything.
“You might want to zip your dress back up, Miss Wright…Unless you want men to faint on the sidewalk at the sight of your beautiful body.”
As I zip up the dress, I say, “You didn’t faint.”
“I am too busy planning to allow my desire to get the better of me.” His fingers are still rubbing out the pain in my foot with skilled practice.
“Busy planning, huh? Waging war again?” I tease. “It’s always good to have a battle strategy in place.”
He smiles seductively. “Yes it is.”
“And since when are you a masseuse? Have you been taking private lessons when you’re not closing million dollar deals and seducing half the women in the city with just your smile?” I ask.
His return smile leaves me helpless and speechless. In a matter of a few playful conversations since seeing him outside of work, I will happily be this man’s play toy for the rest of my life. Just tell me what dotted line to sign.
“I did take private lessons years ago. Haven’t had an opportunity to use them in a while.”
I want to push the topic and find out why he hasn’t had the opportunity, but he glances out the window and says, “We’re here, Miss Wright.”
I take my feet back from his capable fingers and slide them back into my heels. The car rolls to a stop and Daniel opens the door.
“Please enjoy your night, sir,” The man says to Mr. Townsend.
“Thank you. I will call for you tomorrow when I need you,” my boss replies before ushering me through the doors of the opulent hotel.
***
As we walk up to the front counter, the concierge greets, “Welcome to The Pearl Hotel. How can I-?” Her eyes widen upon looking at my boss. “Mr. Townsend?” She breathes out. He smiles at the woman, nodding. “Oh, my God. I wrote my dissertation paper on your father’s mathematical formulas and how they can be used in many different academic principles. He was absolutely brilliant.”
“Yes, he was,” Mr. Townsend replies politely. “But, right now, I need a hotel room. One with a balcony on the quietest floor you have available,” he says. “If it can be done, I’d like no one on either side of my room.”
“That can be arranged, sir,” she replies in a business-like manner while typing into the computer. As my boss and his newly minted stalker make the arrangements, I glance around the lobby. Never having been here before, I want to take in the scenery, appreciate the moment.
His words, however, pull me back to his conversation.
“Then I’d like a bottle of Cristal delivered outside our door in four hours. Tip the server the price of the bottle for his discretion.”
The concierge then notices me standing next to him. She swallows a lump in her throat. “Of course, sir. Just sign here.”
A piece of paper is placed in front of him to sign. When he hands it back, she gives him the key card. “Tenth floor. Suite 1010. Enjoy.”
I smile at the suite number because it’s my apartment address.
With his hand on my lower back again, Mr. Townsend ushers me through the lobb
y toward the elevators.
***
When we step inside, we are thankfully alone. He presses the button for the tenth floor. There really is no going back now. I turn toward him, planting my lips on his.
As the shock subsides, Mr. Townsend groans into my lips, kissing me back with a ferocity I have never experienced before as his tongue sweeps across mine. My hands are fevered against his body, trying to undo his necktie.
He stops me, holding my hands in his.
“Miss Wright, no undressing in the elevator. There could be people outside, and I don’t want your beautiful naked body winding up on the six o’clock news.”
“Such a gentleman,” I murmur against his lips.
“I try to be. It’s not easy around you.” His hand trails down my backside, squeezing my ass cheek. I can’t get over just how strong he is, so commanding. He is absolutely irresistible.
“Well, would you do me a favor?” I ask before kissing him again. “Leave the gentleman here in the elevator, because I don’t have much use for him in the bedroom.”
His returning gaze sends shivers down my spine as my body hums with uncontrolled sexual tension, my need for this man beyond even my comprehension.
The elevator dings, and Mr. Townsend, with his hand on my lower back again, guides me off the elevator and down the hall.
He slides the keycard into the door, opening it up. My heart is pounding, my breathing is erratic, and it feels as though a cage of butterflies have just been released into my stomach.
“After you, Miss Wright,” he whispers in my ear.
Gathering my courage, I remind myself that this is business. This is not the first time I’ve done this, and I fall back on years of experience to compensate for my nervousness. On shaky legs, I stride into the room.
Victoria is all business when she walks through the door, which is a startling contrast to what is happening at that moment- a night of fun and pleasure. She spins around quickly and begins to unzip her dress, her eyes fixed on my shirt. I place my hands on hers, stopping her.
“Did I tell you to do that?” I ask, teasing her.
She looks down at my hands wrapped around hers, then up at me with a heated gaze, her breathing erratic.
Placing her hands down at her sides, she smiles up at me with such a serene look on her face that it is heart-stopping. The warmth from her hands is electrifying and I feel it all the way down to my toes.
“Very well, Mr. Townsend, do you worst.”
I can’t control myself anymore. She has given me permission, and so I do the one thing that I’ve wanted to do for so long it physically hurts. I pull her into my arms. Her lithe body is pressed against me, and I hear her sigh. Lifting her chin, I kiss her until she is putty in my hands, and I literally have to wrap my arms around her and hold her up, because her legs are shaking so hard. As soon as my lips brush against her warm ones, five years of denying myself crashes down on me with such an overwhelming intensity. Victoria must feel it too, because she gasps loudly. My tongue licks her upper lip, and I hear her sigh in contentment before parting her lips for me. I take her mouth like a man starved, because that’s what I am. I have denied myself her for so long that now I crave her so badly it hurts. Her hands wrap around my body beneath my blazer as she presses her body into mine. Frustration leaking out of her, she claws at my skin.
When I finally pull back, giving us a moment to breathe, her fingers rake through my hair as she whispers against my lips, “Would you like me to strip for you, Mr. Townsend? You can sit down on the couch and watch the show…”
“Another time,” I reply. “I want to undress you tonight.”
I kiss my way down her neck, my palm stroking her throat once I reach her heaving breasts. Her fingers rake through my hair as I make short work of her zipper. I slide the open dress off her shoulders, caressing her skin to her forearms where the garment slides off. Before it reaches the floor, I grab the dress, tossing it onto a nearby chair.
Victoria’s head is tilted back, her eyes closed with her lips parted. Her legs are apart, her arms out, and she reminds me of a sacrificial offering to the gods.
My hands trail down her body to the top of her panties. Her eyes follow my hand down her body, her muscles quivering everywhere that my fingers trail. I glance down at what I’ve just uncovered to find her in a black, frilly thong, thigh-highs and garter belt. I run my finger along the black lace of her bra, my finger circling around her nipple.
“Very nice, Miss Wight.”
“I’m glad you approve.” Her voice is husky, every word laced with desire.
I don’t give a damn that she didn’t go out tonight wearing this outfit for me. She’s wearing it for me now.
Victoria wraps her leg around my waist, my hip holding it up. “Are you ready to find out if this is what you want?”
With her leg wrapped around my waist, her ass cheek fits comfortably in my palm as I caress her bottom. I stare into her eyes as she stares back. Her eyes mirror exactly what I feel inside- desire, wonder, and amazement. I’m not entirely sure how we reached this point, how we ended up at this exact spot at this exact moment, which feels like more of an accident than a well-laid-out plan. I have no idea how this love story will end, or what will happen after tonight. It is a terrifying feeling to know that after all of these years of hoping and wanting, that this moment may be the climax. After five years of waiting for her, this may be the best that I get- her naked flesh wrapped around my body for a few hours a week. But, nothing more.
What I do know is that even though I don’t know the ending, this moment right here is certainly the beginning. I feel it throughout my body, the hair on the back of my neck standing on end. My stomach is wrapping itself up in knots, and my heart is pounding so fiercely it might just break through my ribs. But, with the way Victoria has wrapped her leg around my hip, her body clinging to mine, and her arms around my neck, I have hope that the ending won’t come with tomorrow’s rising sun.
Her lips are parted, her breath coming out in quick, short bursts. “This is the beginning, isn’t it?” she whispers.
My hand caresses her backside, feeling its soft skin on this tender area. “Yes, it is.”
Her eyelashes flutter as she blinks rapidly, her breaths coming out of her parted lips faster now. She’s as excited and nervous as I am.
It gives me courage.
“You seem very overdressed for the occasion,” she says with a sultry smile.
“We’ll have to fix that then.”
She helps me shrug out of my sport jacket. Yanking off my tie, I unbutton my own shirt. Removing it, I throw all the clothing onto the nearby chair. Taking Victoria’s outstretched wrists, I guide her hands to my chest.
Her eyes fly open the moment her fingers feel the hard muscles beneath. Her eyes take my naked torso in, as she breathes more erratically. “Mr. Townsend.” Her words are barely a whisper, little more than a sighing breath.
“Victoria, my first name is Blaze. When we’re alone together, you may call me that.”
She glances up at me, blinking. “Your first name is Blaze?” I nod. “What about you isn’t sexy as hell?”
I’m not sure how to respond to that. So, as her hands rake up and down my flesh, I say, “This is what you’ve been missing out on all these years.”
Her eyes widen as her hands tremble on my abs. They wander up, grazing my body, and the sensation of her hands roaming freely is a feeling that I cannot properly describe. It is my deepest fantasy coming to fruition, happening before my very eyes. Her beautiful blue eyes, that were filled with surprise and wonder, are now shifting to desire and need as her previously tentative fingers are now digging into my pecs. I can feel her hunger in her clawing fingernails raking over my body, streaking my skin with red angry marks.
In one swift move, I unhook her bra strap, sliding the garment off her body and toss it with the growing pile of clothes. For a moment, I can’t help but feel satisfaction at the sight of her and my clot
hes mixed together in the heap. Cupping her beautiful pert breasts in my hands, I take her nipple into my mouth, sucking it gently, until I gauge how much pressure she likes.
“God that feels amazing…” she murmurs out absentmindedly, her hand fisting my hair with her eyes closed.
I take her hand, pulling her over to the couch. At this moment, the bed seems too far away. My need to taste this woman is too overwhelming to be ignored any longer.
Laying down, I beckon for her. “Come here.”
Strutting over to me, I watch her nearly naked form.