by Alexis Gold
He held his aloft in a toast and smiled. “To a successful first half of the weekend. You have your whole family convinced that we are lovers and have been together for at least two years.”
She shook her head slowly, “No, Derek, you have them convinced,” and then she smiled weakly and laughed a little, “and you almost have me convinced, too. You were amazing tonight.” They sipped their bubbles and she looked up at him. “Where did you get ideas for all of those stories you told everyone all night? All of your romantic memories with me?”
He shrugged and looked into her eyes. “Oh, well you told me what all of your favorites are, and I just embellished after that. That’s all. It was one of the easiest things I’ve ever done. I just... imagined what it would be like to be doing those things with you,” he said quietly, his eyes locked on hers as the space between them narrowed and warmed significantly.
Her heart skipped several beats and she tried to remember to breathe as she lost herself in the blue of his eyes and the sensual curve of his lips. “You almost had me believing every word you said,” she told him softly.
He just smiled at her. “Then I’m sure your family believed it, too.”
She swallowed the rest of her champagne and then without thinking, and without any pretense, she lifted herself up on her toes, slid her arms around his neck and kissed him softly, closing her eyes and parting her lips, letting her tongue reach for him and taste him.
He didn’t hesitate at all. He returned her kiss, pulling her against him and drinking her in, his mouth moving more fervently as hers grew hungrier, and rivulets of desire streaked through them both. A soft moan escaped her and the sound seemed to wake them both from their passionate embrace.
Derek took a deep breath and stared down at her, not willing to let her go right away, and she blinked and looked up at him, suddenly remembering that he was being paid to be there with her.
“Just... just for practice,” she whispered softly and he nodded and let her go, though their bodies were both feeling fully alive with electric need.
He let his arms fall away from her and stepped back from her, lifting his flute to his lips and draining it in one drink. Then he gave her a half smile and nodded. “I think we’ve got it down.” he said softly, and then turned and went into their room. He took a shower and when he emerged, she was in her pajamas in bed, with the bedside lamp on and a book in her hands. He raked his fingers through his hair and smiled lightly at her. She tried not to stare at his thick muscles and bare chest. He was wearing pajama bottoms that fit him well and made her body ache for what lay beneath them.
Derek crawled into the bed with her and fluffed his pillow a bit, looking over at her and smiling softly.
“Good night, Julia. I’ll see you in the morning. Have sweet dreams.”
She nodded. “Sweet dreams to you, too,” she said with a smile. Then she turned out the light and they turned their backs to each other, though neither one of them fell asleep for a long time.
Chapter Four
The morning of the wedding dawned and they rose from bed. She showered first and came out in a thick, terry cloth robe. He kept his eyes averted from her on purpose and took the second shower while she got dressed and began to do her hair and makeup.
When he stepped out from the shower, he was wearing a towel around his waist and it was all she could do not to look at his gorgeous body. She couldn’t get her zipper up in the back of her dress and she turned her head to speak to him over shoulder. “Could you please help me with the zipper on this dress? I can’t seem to reach it.”
He looked up at her and nodded. “Of course. I’d be glad to.” He walked over to her and stood behind her, his eyes moving over the dark skin on her shoulders, tracing her curves with his eyes down her bare back to where the dress fell just above her hips.
The zipper went from her hip to just beneath her arm behind her breast. His hands moved over the thin lavender satin and grasped the little pull on the zip, and she closed her eyes and breathed in as his hand moved slowly up her body. His fingers traced a long slow line from the back of her hip up her torso to the side of her breast, and there his fingers stayed for just a moment, at the edge of the curve of her breast as his body drew near to the back of her and his breath was a warm caress on her bare shoulder.
“Does that feel all right?” he asked her almost in a whisper, his fingers warm through the material as they touched her.
Her heart beat wildly in her and she tried to draw a breath as his hand flattened against the side of her body, his fingertips against the side curve of her breast, and he moved his hand down to her waist, still standing almost against her he was so close to her. She nodded and wished that she could lean back and lay against him, wished that he would move his hands around the front of her body and touch her. She closed her eyes and tried to breathe, but his breath on the back of her neck almost paralyzed her with desire.
“You look so beautiful,” he told her in the softest whisper, and she was suddenly acutely aware of his bare chest just a breath away from her back.
His hand rested on her hip and he wanted to curl his fingers around it and pull her body back to him, lean her against him and kiss her shoulder and her neck, but he remembered that he was there as her employee, and after a tense moment, and some colossal will power, he let his hand slide slowly over the thin fabric of her dress and let go of her.
“Thank you,” she said quietly.
“Sure,” he replied. “Anything you need.”
He walked away and headed to the bathroom with his clothes, shutting the door behind him. She leaned over to the bed and held on to the frame, gripping it as she took a deep breath and steadied herself, willing the fires in her to cool and evaporate. She did not need a situation with a man in her life, particularly one who was being paid to pretend that he loved her. He was only acting, she told herself.
But then... there was no one in the room for him to act in front of. It was just the two of them alone together. She couldn’t deny that she felt something powerful when he was around; she felt something magnetic about him that drew her to him and would not let her go, but she knew that no matter what she felt, she had to respect his distance and his position as her employee.
They went to the wedding breakfast with the rest of the wedding party, and from the moment they left the room, he was by her side, paying attention to her again, listening intently to her, watching her, and he was almost always touching her in some way. His hand held hers, or his fingers were resting on the small of her back, or his hand would travel up her bare skin on her arm or on her back, or his hand would be held firmly around her waist.
Wherever he touched her he drew heat and warmth, and it made her temperature rise and made her ache for him until she was almost completely distracted with everything he did around her. For Derek it was the same, he seemed to be drawn to her in such a powerful way that he could not leave her side, and he could not hold back from reaching for her at every chance he had.
He eased some of his desire for her in the kisses he gave to her all throughout the morning and the day, leaning over to kiss her cheek or her neck, lifting her fingers to his mouth, or now and then pulling her close to him and kissing her lips, making the fires ignite and burn brightly between the two of them.
It was evident to everyone how much they were in love, and several people commented on it, but one did not. One man watched Julia all throughout the day, staring at her and wishing for her, but she turned her gaze from him and kept it on Derek.
“He’s watching me again,” she whispered at one point during the morning. “I know he doesn’t mean anything by it, he’s just so stubborn. He just doesn’t want to give up on me.”
A strange look came over Derek’s face; a serious look, and his blue eyes were set on Julia’s brown ones. “Well, he can’t have you. You’re mine this weekend.” And with that, he pulled her into his arms snugly and kissed her with all of the pent up passion inside of him, parting her
lips and twisting his tongue around hers, making her melt into him, and moan with need.
Her moan only made him more hungry for her, and his arms closed tighter around her and he kissed her more deeply. When he finally let her go, they could hardly focus on anything around them but each other. She took a deep breath and stepped away from him to go to her sister and help her in her final preparations for the wedding.
Ronald avoided Derek’s looks and he steered clear of whatever group Derek was standing in during the day, preferring either to speak to Julia’s family or to keep his own company. Derek became more aware of him as the day progressed and they were seated near one another in the chairs as the wedding progressed. Both of them watched Julia as she walked down the aisle, her body moving beneath the thin lavender satin that covered it. There were white flowers in her hair and diamonds around her neck and in her ears, and Derek was certain that he had never seen a more beautiful woman in his life.
Her eyes sought him out for a moment as she passed him and they shared a smile before she looked back to the altar in front of her. When the vows had been spoken and the ceremony completed, the guests and wedding party made their way to the reception in the grand ballroom of the hotel, partially inside and partially outside.
A live chamber orchestra played serene music as the guests ate and talked with one another, and Derek and Julia were able to sit together.
“How was it?” she asked, looking at him with a glowing smile.
“The ceremony was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen, but nothing stole my attention more than you. I just couldn’t take my eyes off of you. I’ve never seen anyone who captured me the way you did today,” he smiled at her.
She listened to him with rapt attention as she spoke, and she soaked up his words and his steady gaze, until she looked around her and realized something.
“Oh, Derek. You don’t have to say things like that when no one else is around. It’s all right.” She smiled lightly and he placed his finger beneath her chin and turned her face to him.
“I didn’t say that for anyone else. I said it for you, for your ears only, because I want you to know it.” His voice was soft but intense.
She blinked at him. “I... I don’t know what to say,” she whispered, her eyes locked on his.
He shook his head slowly. “Don’t say anything,” he breathed as he leaned close to her and kissed her again. His lips moved over hers and everything in her ached for him. Her hands moved to his face, holding him as she kissed him back, giving him in return all the passion that he was giving her, and knowing without a doubt that there was nothing at all fake about it.
They let each other go, and neither of them spoke a word to the other for a long moment. That was when Ronald walked up to them and stopped, facing Julia.
“May I have this dance, please?” he asked politely.
Derek and she both looked up and Derek stood up before Ronald, his eyes holding him with a serious expression. “I’m sorry, Ronald, but this lady will be busy with me for the rest of the weekend. We wish you a pleasant evening.” And with that, he took Julia’s hand and lifted her from her seat, walking out onto the dance floor with her and wrapping his arms tightly around her, holding her close to him in such a way that nothing and no one could have gotten to her, except the bride and groom who came to tell her goodnight before they left for their honeymoon.
Derek and she both hugged them goodbye, and she kissed their cheeks and waved as they disappeared in the crowd of family and off into their new lives as a married couple.
Julia turned to Derek and smiled at him and he smiled back down at her and sighed. “Well, it’s almost over,” he said quietly.
A frown pulled her full lips down and she looked up at him. “I wish it wasn’t,” she said softly, looking at him as they held each other close and danced.
He raised an eyebrow. “No? Why is that?”
She laughed a little and raised the corner of her mouth a bit. “This feels like a fairytale dream and I don’t want to wake up. I want to hold on to it for as long as I can. I want...” she paused, her eyes on his, and then she stopped speaking and looked down, only to have him slip his finger beneath her chin and lift it so that she was looking at him.
“What do you want?” he asked. “I can try to give you whatever you want.”
She shook her head. “We can’t,” she whispered.
He smiled and looked around them. “Of course we can. We can do anything. We’re here, and while we are here, anything is possible. What do you want, Julia?” he asked again, his eyes looking straight into her with a hunger that made her focus on nothing but him.
She leaned close to him and whispered against his lips. “I want you,” she said aloud, not believing she had spoken the words to him, and not entirely sure that they wouldn’t break the magical spell around them that made if feel as if the whole weekend had been real.
She had barely said the words when he gasped almost inaudibly and in the next breath, his lips were on hers and he was pulling her firmly against him. He kissed her long and passionately, and then let her go and he looked at her.
“I am yours whenever you want me,” he said quietly, and without a word, she turned and took him by the hand, leading him back to their room. She didn’t stop to say anything to her family or their friends. She just walked straight to their room with him and locked the main door behind her.
Hand in hand they went, until the bed was beside them, and then she turned and looked at him and the words finally came to her.
“I don’t know what it is about you. I don’t know what happened between us here, or what will happen when we leave and go back to San Francisco. All I know is that I feel something for you; I feel... such a pull to you. I want you. You have made me want you so much that I can’t pretend anymore that we are just acting this out for my family. I want it to be real with you. Even if it’s just for one night. Even if it’s just for a few hours, and when we leave tomorrow you go back to your life and I go back to mine, I don’t want to lose this time or this chance with you. I have to ask you. I want to have you in my bed with me tonight, in my arms. Will you?” she asked, looking up at him in hopeful need.
He couldn’t respond to her. There were no words. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her more passionately than he had kissed her that whole weekend. He kissed her as if she was the air he needed to breath and to live, and then he looked at her and smiled and said quietly,
“Then I will make love with you, and the light of tomorrow will bring to us whatever it will bring to us. Is that what you want?” he asked, his eyes questioning her.
She smiled back with excitement in her eyes, and utter happiness. “You are what I want.”
He kissed her again and his hands which had moved over her hips and back and arms all night, finally touched her where she had wished for him to touch her. His fingers reached up her torso to cup her breasts, touching them through the fabric of her dress, running his fingertips over the hard nipples that grew toward him, straining for him. His mouth covered hers and overtook it, making her moan deeply with need, and slowly, tantalizingly slowly, he unzipped the dress she wore, sliding it off of her body as she peeled his clothes from him and bared him.
“I can’t believe how much I want you,” she told him. “I’ve never... I’ve never wanted anyone like this.” She gasped as his lips moved down her neck and he pulled her down into the bed with him. They turned and twisted around each other until they were a tangle of arms and legs and lips and tongues, and their bodies burned with a white hot heat for each other.
Derek slid his hands over every part of her body, feeling all of her dark satiny skin and canvassing it with his fingertips, his tongue and his embrace. As they kissed and touched and teased, her fingers massaging his thick and solid arousal, the tip of his tongue tracing circles around her hard nipples, they grew to a fevered pitch and he slid his fingers between her thighs, touching her gently at first, rubbing and massaging h
er, making her sigh and gasp with need as he began to slide his fingers in and out of her, making her cry out with pleasure until she arced her back and sighed loudly as she came and his mouth lifted from her breast to her lips to taste the sound of her orgasm against his tongue.
In moments, he had spread her thighs apart and thrust himself inside of her, sliding in and out of her as they clung to one another, wrestling in passion and fire, moving against each other until the heat and friction overcame them and their orgasms made them solid as one, the bodies locked together in release and overwhelming bliss.
They wilted beside each other, holding one another gently as their passion subsided and they found comfort and peace in each other’s arms, and not long after that, sleep overtook them.
***
When the morning light was early, he awoke, and seeing her laying beside him, her body pressed against him, he grew hard with need for her again, and he woke her with his heated touch and kisses, moistening her and making her need him so much that she swung her legs over him and buried him in the depths of her, moving over him with such fervor that their need was satisfied quickly, and they kissed softly in the early morning hours. They showered together and made love once more, losing themselves in heat of the steam and of each other until he flooded her with his orgasm and she clung to him with the intense power of her own pleasure, and when it was time to go, neither one of them wanted to leave.
They drove slowly back up the coast, stopping along the way to kiss and touch and hold each other outside of the car, and when they were getting close to San Francisco, he watched her from his seat as she drove and he shook his head.
“Julia, I can’t let this be over. It’s not because I’m lonely and it’s been ages since I was in a relationship. It’s not because I was paid for this time with you. I can’t let this be over because I want you more than anyone I’ve ever wanted, or needed, for that matter. You have shown me a passion and a love that I never could have guessed even existed, and I can’t lose you. I know you just ended a bad relationship, but I want to ask you... to beg you, to give me a chance to show you that love can be good. My love for you could be amazing; just let me try it with you. Please... give both of us that chance. Be with me. Be mine,” he asked with hope in his blue eyes.