Dream Lover

by Peterson, Nicola

  He smiled, ‘and I’ll take are of you both,’ he said taking her slender hand and holding it between his two.

  When they left the restaurant he took her hand in his own, his grip just tight enough to ensure she could not pull her hand from his.

  Of course she thought about the events of the day, they were all she could think of. Over the evening Maxwell had repeated his proposal, the earnest expression in his eyes had almost dissolved her resolve.

  ‘I can not give you an answer tonight,’ she eventually replied. ‘I need time to think, stop pressuring me.’

  Max was pleased with her reply at least she was thinking about his proposal that was enough for the time being.

  ‘When I sleep walked earlier, what did I do?’ It had been troubling her since he told her.

  ‘Nothing really, you came and sat by me, I had fallen asleep on the sofa. I spoke to you and asked if you were awake, you said yes,’ he shrugged, ‘I wasn’t sure so I put you back into bed, the moment your head touched the pillow you closed your eyes again.’

  Quinn felt reasonably relaxed until they walked into his room, ‘Don’t look so nervous,’ he coaxed, ‘don’t you trust me at all?’ he smiled pulling her into his arms.

  This time she returned his smile, ‘Yes of course, it’s just once I go to sleep...’

  He laughed, ‘I promise to fight you off!’

  Quinn insisted that she would sleep on the sofa, ‘I can’t share a bed with you even if we wouldn’t be… you know,’ her words faded as he started to smile.

  ‘Okay, I would be a gentleman and let you have the bed, but I’d never sleep on that,’ he nodded toward the sofa and smiled at the worried look on her face.

  ‘I’ll be fine,’ she insisted.

  After changing into her nightdress she stood in the bathroom plucking up courage to walk back out into the bedroom. For a moment she sat on the edge of the bathtub and thought about the events of the past twenty four hours. Last night she was sure that they were going to have a relationship, and if she was honest it was what she wanted. But the thought that he had made love to her while she slept left her feeling more than a little disturbed. But honestly she could not lay all the blame on Maxwell, he was not the first person to believe her to be awake when she was in a deep sleep she had even fooled her family in the past. Her thoughts turned to his proposal, something she had been pushing to the very back of her mind. Could she marry him, did she want to marry him? Yes her heart told her she could, she loved him that much, but he hadn’t said he loved her…he had said he had strong feelings for her, was it love, and if not would it grow into love given time?

  Quinn shook her head; all she was achieving at the moment was to encourage her head to ache. Taking a deep breath she opened the door and could hardly hold back her gasp of what could only be described as pleasure.

  Maxwell was looking away from her, when he heard the sound he looked up quickly, ‘What…is something wrong?’ he asked with more than a touch of concern in his voice.

  She stood speechless and looked him over; dressed in just his shorts he was a wonderful specimen of the perfect male. His broad shoulders sat over a wide muscular chest. A ‘t’ shaped pattern of fine dark curled hair ran across his chest. The muscles on his arms and legs were toned and well defined, his stomach rippled with the perfect six pack, and Quinn thought he looked divine.

  Quinn missed the slightly amused expression on his face as she openly gaped at him. Closing the space between them in two long strides Maxwell stood so close to her she had to tilt her head to look up into his eyes.

  ‘I’m all yours Quinn,’ he said softly pulling her into his arms. He gave her no warning as he covered her mouth with his own. No warning as he slipped his tongue deep into her mouth and moulded her close to his body.

  An overwhelming sense of disappointment swept through her body when he ended the kiss. ‘I promise to behave,’ he whispered pressing his mouth against her throat, ‘sleep with me, just sleep,’ he coaxed cupping her bottom in one large hand and pulling her tightly against his aroused body.

  Quinn was busy kissing his chest, running her fingers through the soft chest-hair, and trying desperately hard not to groan out loud as his thigh muscles pressed into hers. ‘Not yet,’ she gasped again when he ran his hands down her body pulling her so close her breasts crushed against his chest.

  After kissing her one more time he reluctantly left her to lie down on the sofa while he lay in the big empty bed. Although he did not make any attempt to sleep but waited until she had fallen asleep, quietly he slipped out of bed and scooped her up into his arms and took her back with him, holding her head against his chest he fell into a deep restful asleep.

  Quinn woke during the night more than a little disorientated, and lay very still for a moment then slowly and carefully she moved her hand and touched her body. She sighed with relief; well at least she still had her nightdress on. Equally slowly she reached out hopefully toward Max's hip, the first attempt she touched his arm, on the second attempt she touched his hip, she sighed again as her fingers made contact with his shorts.

  Maxwell murmured softly, pulled her head back against his chest and shifted his body, moving his hand from the curve of her waist to rest on her hip for a moment before cupping her rounded bottom and pulling her closer to his warm body. He gave a soft sigh of what sounded like contentment and lay still again.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  It was daylight the next time Quinn woke, still early she guessed judging by the soft light. Max was breathing deeply, his hold on her a little more relaxed, so relaxed she thought she would slip away before he woke. She was still unsure if she had climbed into his bed or he had carried her, but either way she wanted to be out of it before he woke.

  The moment she started to move his arms tightened. ‘Going somewhere?’ he asked sleepily pulling her back against his body.

  ‘Bathroom,’ she said nervously.

  Suddenly he was wide-awake and sat up quickly, pulling her with him, ‘Are you sick?’ he asked each word edged with concern.

  Her brow creased, ‘Oh no, I was….’

  Max smiled, ‘Just running away?’ he asked as he lay back down and pulled her with him only this time he lay her down against the mattress. Max smiled down into her worried face, ‘Before you work yourself into a panic, I carried you from the sofa,’ he explained. ‘I wanted to go to sleep with you in my arms and wake up with you in my arms, I did both and it was even better than I imagined,’ he smiled and ran one finger down her cheek and looked into her soft golden eyes. ‘That was quite something because I imagined it would be pretty good. And you know what Quinn?’ he kissed the tip of her nose, ‘I’d like to wake up like this for a long, long time,’ he brushed his lips gently across hers, ‘what about you?’ he asked.

  ‘I’ll think about it,’ she replied lifting her hand and ran her fingers across the dark stubble on his chin then up through his thick dark sleep tousled hair.

  He murmured softly against her lips, parting them with his tongue then kissing her so passionately all she could think was she wanted to be kissed this way forever.

  ‘Make love,’ he whispered softly, sliding the straps of her nightdress away from her shoulders and slowly covered her neck and shoulders with soft kisses.

  Quinn sighed as he gently made his way from her neck to her breast and kissed and caressed her until a quick tightening in the base of her stomach made her gasp, he gave a soft groan in reply, bared her other breast and repeated the process.

  ‘Maxwell,’ she murmured as his warm moist lips moved from one breast to the other.

  ‘Call me Max,’ he whispered, ‘just Max.’

  When she murmured his name again he lifted his head and looked into her eyes, ‘Tell me what you want,’ he whispered pressing his lips along the line of her jaw, ‘anything, I’ll do it for you,’ his voice a soft husky whisper that sent shivers of delight down her spine.

  She wasn’t sure what she wanted from him, her bo
dy felt on fire, melting, wanting. But just as she thought, he knew what she wanted, his hand slid slowly down her body until he touched between her thighs, and his warm fingers found the exact spot that craved his touch. She clung tightly to his broad shoulders, while her heart beat so hard and fast she thought it would explode, her lips parted while she gasped for air. When she opened her eyes he was looking straight into them, slowly he lowered his head and kissed her until she couldn’t think straight.

  Without a word he lifted her from the bed, as her feet touched the floor her silk nightdress fell into a soft pool on the ground. Slowly he slid his hands from her waist down over her hips, hooking his thumbs into her silk briefs he pulled them down over her thighs.

  Consciously her hands fluttered to cover the top of her thighs, she’d never been undressed before a man before, well not that she remembered.

  ‘No, don’t cover yourself,’ he smiled down into her face, ‘you are perfect, every lovely inch of you,’ his strong gentle hands moved across her body, stroking, caressing while he looked into her eyes. Taking her hands he rested them on his hips over his shorts, ‘Take them off,’ he whispered running his hand through her hair he lowered his head and covered her mouth with his own. Obediently she slid his underwear over his backside and down his thighs, leaving them to fall at his feet, the instant they touched his ankles he kicked them away and pulled her tightly against his body.

  When his naked arousal pressed against her stomach she arched her body slightly away from him, Max sensed she would and lowered his hand down her back covering her backside and held her against him, swallowing her soft gasp with his kiss.

  Gently he lowered her down onto the bed, for a moment he stood looking down at her. To her abashment he made no attempt to conceal his state of arousal, far from, he stood proudly and wonderfully naked by the side of the bed before joining her.

  ‘Don’t look so nervous,’ he coaxed taking her hand and holding it against his chest. ‘Touch me,’ he said encouraged, with a sigh he lay down beside her on the bed propped on one elbow. ‘Quinn I know don’t remember making love, but you must have seen your previous boy friends naked,’ she shook her head, ‘touched them…. over clothes?’ she shook her head again. ‘Let them touch you…. anywhere?’ he ventured.

  She bit on her lip and started to reach for the sheets, ‘No…’ suddenly embarrassed at her lack of experience.

  ‘Well it’s time you did,’ he said smoothly, pulling her up from the bed, ‘standing up is best, that way you don’t miss anything,’ he smiled into her more than slightly embarrassed face.

  When he told her to touch him she tutted at him, ‘There’s no need for this, let me do things at my own pace….’

  ‘I’ll be an old man by then, touch me,’ he took her hands and held them against his lower body sliding them down until she touched him intimately. ‘Don’t dare move away,’ he warned, and then whispered against her ear how he wanted her to touch him. ‘That feels really nice,’ he murmured huskily as she started to caress him.

  Quinn watched his face while she touched him; his mouth parted slightly, the tip of his tongue flicked across his lips. ‘Max,’ she whispered without realising and his mouth came down hard against her own. His hand slipped between her thighs and he started to caress her, ‘I’ll fall down,’ she whispered between kisses.

  ‘No I’ll catch you,’ he promised.

  And he did, lowering her down onto the mattress he parted her thighs and pushed slowly and gently into her body. He filled her completely, tightly making her gasp; lifting her hips he encouraged her to wrap her legs around his waist, pulling him even deeper into her body. She murmured incoherent words as he moved with slow unhurried thrust against her body until her climax beat deep inside then he moved harder and faster, taking her to highs she never imagined.

  ‘Remember Quinn,’ he whispered softly, then slid his hand under her bottom not giving her time to catch her breath he did it again just the way he had the first time.

  The sensation was heart-stopping breath taking and she did remember their first time. She whispered his name and he knew she remembered, this time he didn’t fight the pull deep in her body but fell headlong with her into a place where only they existed, the hard beat of their hearts and their softly whispered sighs.

  Max reached across and pulled the sheets across their damp exhausted bodies, ‘Rest for a while,’ he murmured breathlessly pulling her head against his chest.

  ‘Max...’ she said softly, unsure if he could hear her over the hard pounding of her heart or his own, unsure of even what she wanted to tell him.

  ‘Shush,’ he murmured, ‘everything will be just fine.’

  The moment her eyes closed Quinn fell into a deep sleep, it seemed like only moments later she was being shaken awake again.

  ‘Come on sleepy head, time to get up.’

  ‘Why?’ she yawned while lifting one slim hand to her mouth.

  ‘Because we are due at a meeting in just over an hour, that’s why,’ he told her pulling her into his arms.

  Keeping her face straight she looked around the room then into his eyes, ‘Why are you in my bed?’

  Max looked uncertainly into her eyes, ‘we have been together all night, we’ve just made love... don’t you remember?’ his voice full of disappointment while a deep furrow creased his brow.

  She couldn’t hold back her laughter any longer and giggles shook her body.

  ‘Quinn Morgan you are not funny,’ he told her seriously, ‘not funny at all,’ quickly he pulled her out of the bed, gave up trying not to laugh and joined in with her.

  ‘Don’t you want to jog my memory?’ she asked wrapping her arms around his neck.

  He smiled down into her face, ‘Would you like me too?’ he asked lifting her easily into his arms.

  ‘Oh yes, I’d hate to forget,’ she said looking straight into his eyes.

  ‘Oh you won’t forget,’ he murmured nibbling on her ear, ‘I’ll make sure you never forget,’ he told her huskily laying her down on the bed once more.

  Once he dressed in his business suit Max became her employer again and not her lover. As she watched him fasten his tie she realised it was going to be difficult at times, still she didn’t have long before Paul came back and took up his position as his p.a. again. Not long before she would be finishing work to have their baby. It still hadn’t sunk in yet, not really. She was going to be a mother, something she had always wanted a family.

  ‘Quinn,’ Max called across the room, ‘are you alright?’ he asked walking quickly toward her.

  ‘Yes fine,’ she smiled up into his face, ‘just thinking.’

  He laughed and kissed her brow, ‘Well it looked pretty painful don’t do it for too long!’

  When Max left for his meeting she stayed behind in his room working on a report, the morning flew surprisingly quickly and at one o’clock she turned off her computer freshened up her make up and went down to meet him as arranged for lunch.

  In between her work Quinn spent a little of her time thinking about Maxwell’s proposal, was his declaration that he had strong feelings for her enough. She knew without a doubt she loved him and always would but were his feelings enough to build a marriage on? One thing was for sure she loved him enough to take a chance.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  As Quinn walked through the door of the lounge Maxwell turned, almost as though he sensed her entrance into the room. He gave her a cool nod of his dark head and a glimmer of a smile. Her first reaction had been to run and throw herself in his arms.

  ‘This is Max the boss,’ she told herself, returning his smile with a toned down version of the one that threatened to split her face in two.

  Maxwell introduced her to a handful of managers from around his company. ‘This is Quinn my p.a.,’ he told the overseas manager.

  Peter Collins smiled and looked from Quinn to Max, ‘Well this is a first, Maxwell with a female p.a., very nice to meet you Miss Quinn.’

  ‘Ni
ce to meet you Mr Collins, my first name is Quinn,’ she smiled as he took her hand, holding onto it just a little longer than was necessary until Max gave a discrete little cough.

  ‘You must have the worst reputation for being bad tempered I’ve ever come across,’ Quinn told Max when they sat down for lunch. When he feigned a hurt expression she smiled, ‘Nearly everyone has made some comment about your temper, mostly along the lines how do I put up with you and maybe I can sweeten you up a little.’

  His brow creased, ‘Am I that bad?’ he asked, half seriously.

  ‘Yes,’ she replied with a smile, ‘you are too impatient with everyone,’ she told him lowering her voice.

  The reaction from the group at the table when Maxwell Cordell laughed out loud was collective amazement. He took it all in his stride and looked around the table. ‘My p.a. has just told me I’m too impatient and bad tempered,’ he put his napkin down on the table and started to stand, ‘I won’t be long, I’m just going to take her outside while I give her damn good flogging!’ he sat down again and started to laugh heartily. Turning to Peter he asked, ‘Do you think I’m bad tempered?’

  Peter laughed, ‘Not at all sir.’

  Out of all the lunches Quinn had attended with Max this was the most relaxed and when she visited the restroom she met with the overseas director’s secretary, ‘Well I can’t believe you had the guts to do that,’ Julie said as they stood side by side at the vanity mirror.

  ‘What?’ Quinn asked with her hairbrush in mid stroke.

  ‘Make Maxwell laugh,’ she looked her over, ‘he doesn’t scare you does he?’ she gave a half laugh when Quinn shook her head. ‘Have you ever seen him in a rage?’

  She nodded her head, ‘Nothing I couldn’t handle,’ she replied with a smile.

  When the meeting finished at five they were going directly to the airport, as arranged over lunch Quinn met Max in the lobby.

  ‘I’ve checked us out and the taxi is waiting to take us to the airport,’ she told him. ‘The hotel has a room available if you want to freshen up,’ she looked up as he yawned, ‘we have plenty of time.’