by Anna Lewis
“Water,” she cracked. Her throat felt parched, like she hadn’t had any fluids to drink for days.
“Sip slow,” Anthony said, giving her the water from a straw. When she was done, she relaxed back onto the bed and looked at him for answers.
“What happened, where am I?” she asked, a part of her scared to know the answer.
“You are in St. James Memorial Hospital,” he started with the easy question first. “Someone tried to kill you,” Anthony said angrily. “I was too late to stop it.”
She couldn’t tell if the anger was directed at himself for not getting there in time to stop the culprit, or at the culprit for daring to lay a finger on her. She didn’t know which, but she was more than positive that none of that anger was directed her way. Shelly reached down and engulfed his hands in hers as best she could and squeezed feebly, telling him that she had no hard feelings towards him because she didn’t blame him for any of this. He had saved her life. If not for him she would have died in that apartment.
Memories of the incident started coming back to her, and she shivered just thinking about it. If he had been even a little later, her life would have flown out of her in the form of a warm, red darkness.
“Thank you,” she said, unable to show her gratitude any other way. “Thank you for saving my life.” He smiled for the first time since she had opened her eyes, making her realize once again just how beautiful his eyes were.
“The police should be here at any minute to take your statement. Do you know who your attacker was?”
“No unfortunately, they got in through the fire escape while I was working,” she recalled of the terrible ordeal. “The last thing I remember is that I had my back facing the window, then I’m waking up in bed here,” Shelly finished.
“They hit your head with a vase.”
“Oh no,” Shelly screeched.
“Yes, I’m really sorry. I should have bee—”
“Not my new vase!” she cut him off. “It cost me three hundred dollars.” The expression on Anthony’s face was priceless, she couldn’t help it, Shelly began to laugh.
“Is that really what you are worried about right now?” Anthony seemed pissed.
“I’m sorry.” Shelly composed herself. “I’m just looking for a silver lining I guess.” She tried to sit up again, and this time she succeeded. “I don’t like that you are blaming yourself for someone else’s wickedness.”
“I should have been there with you,” he repeated. She moved closer until there was barely any space between them.
“You are with me now,” she said as she leaned in and did what she had been wanting to do for weeks now. The kiss was soft and gentle, and it felt like the sweetest thing she had ever tasted. It was nothing like the first one, and didn’t feel like it felt in her dreams at all. It was better. It was perfect. He leaned in and deepened the kiss, his lips so soft on hers. She felt electricity pass through her body as his left hand trailed from her lap to the back of her head to cup it. He was so gentle that the place they had bandaged didn’t feel it. He worked his tongue on her lips, licking and nibbling until she granted him access. Her whole body had come alive and she couldn’t believe that she had denied herself this for so long just because she had been scared of making the wrong move.
“You are so beautiful,” he whispered as he trailed tiny kisses down the side of her neck, nuzzling closer to her breasts.
“Ahem,” a voice said, causing them to break apart in surprise. They looked up to see Matty and Arianna by the door. “We could come back if you guys are busy,” Arianna said smiling from ear to ear.
“No…no,” Shelly said embarrassed. Her boss had just caught her tonguing the hired bodyguard, and she was grinning from ear to ear. “It’s fine,” she added.
“What happened?” asked Matty, taking her invitation and entering the room, his wife following closely behind him.
“Oh nothing, just that someone tried to off me yesterday.”
“Oh, Shelly,” Arianna said, moving forward immediately and hugging Shelly tightly. “Who would want to do this to you?” she cried. “You have such a good heart, I know you would never hurt a fly.” She hugged her even tighter, Shelly wondered the same thing. She had racked her brain to think of who would want to hurt her. She had never hurt anybody in any way, she couldn’t imagine anyone going after her, and she was about to say so when Eric walked in.
“Shelly!” he screamed ignoring everyone else and coming over to hug her. “I’m so sorry, I heard everything.”
“Eric.” She hugged him tightly, her best friend was here, she hadn’t seen him since their night out, and so this was such a good surprise. “It took getting almost killed to see you,” she teased.
***
Anthony wasn’t happy, not one bit. He didn’t like the way this Eric guy had his hands around Shelly’s shoulders. They stayed laughing on her bed, talking in soft tones, reminiscing about various childhood memories. He was so tempted to move towards him and stake his claim on Shelly, that it took everything he had to hold himself back from doing just that.
Just then a doctor walked in, Shelly’s medical chart in her hands. The room grew quiet.
“Hello Ms. Duke, I’m Dr. Andrea, and your medical results just came back. You are free to go today, but make sure you don’t stress yourself and take your medication on time,” the doctor said.
“Oh, that’s great news,” Eric said, hugging Shelly a little too tightly if you asked Anthony.
“Oh great!” Arianna said happily. “Don’t worry sweetheart, Doris will complete your open project, there is just one design left. Take the rest of this week off to rest, we will need your battery fully recharged for the launch.”
“Thanks Arianna,” Shelly said smiling. “But really I can complete the—”
“That’s nonsense,” Arianna said putting her off. “It’s no big deal.” Arianna was totally missing the point and it seemed only Anthony could see it. He knew that Shelly wouldn’t be comfortable with another person completing her designs for her, but she looked too weak to argue.
“C’mon, I will take you home,” Eric said. “You can get dressed.”
Anthony stood up in a flash.
“I’ll take her home,” he said.
“Err…who are you?”
“I’m her bodyguard,” Anthony said. “It’s my job to protect her.” He added when that didn’t seem to sway him.
“Yeah, and I can see that you did a terrific job so far.”
Anthony gritted his teeth, his fingers curling.
“I will go get dressed,” said Shelly diffusing the tension. “And Anthony can take me home.” She patted Eric reassuringly on the back. “He saved my life, it’s alright,” she said to him. “Thank you all so much for coming,” she said to the rest of them. “I really appreciate it.”
“We are just glad to see that you are fine love,” Arianna said, leading everyone away to give her some privacy.
Shelly came out a few minutes later to see Anthony waiting patiently for her. Her heart skipped a little thinking about the moment they had shared before the people had started to come in. She still couldn’t believe that had happened.
“Ready to go?” he asked, standing up as she got closer.
“Yes,” she said shyly. She didn’t know why, but it seemed like something had changed between them. She hoped that it had changed for the better, she was tired of all his politeness, of him withholding what she really wanted.
The drive home was a quiet one, they didn’t say a word to each other, but there was no tension. Maybe it was because when they had gotten in the car Anthony reached across to put his hand on hers. Or maybe it was the fact that she had her head resting on his shoulder. She didn’t know what, but she liked it. When they got to her house, he walked her to the front door, her hand in his.
“Thank you for bringing me home Anthony,” Shelly said. “I felt safer.” Anthony just smiled, creating a silence that prolonged between them.
�
��I will see you around then,” Shelly said quietly, not wanting the moment to pass.
“Well, I think I should spend the night,” he said. “Just to make sure that you are safe and the culprit doesn’t try to harm you again, that is,” he added quickly, not that she had been trying to refuse, she had just stayed there looking at him like his words were gold.
“Ok,” she breathed the word, before she took his hand and led the way into her house.
Shelly was in the shower, she had been in the shower for a really long time now, and if not for her unbearable singing Anthony would think there was something wrong with her.
The first thing she had done when she had opened the door was to bring out some clean blankets and towels for him from her storage cupboard, and then she had excused herself that she needed to take a shower…that had been forty-five minutes ago.
He had already lain out blankets on the couch for himself, and now he was waiting for Shelly to come out so they could order some food. Anthony looked around, taking in the apartment, he hadn’t noticed it earlier in his anxiousness to see Shelly safe, but her apartment was actually very…well…stylish. It was small for his taste, but it was a lovely two bedroom flat, with very impressive decoration that he wouldn’t be surprised she had done herself considering she was a very creative designer. He walked through the bedroom to the bathroom door and knocked on it.
“You coming out anytime soon?” he called. “I want to order some foo—” Anthony was cut short in his speech as Shelly walked out of the bathroom, completely naked.
“Chinese please,” she said walking towards her bedroom, very casual and comfortable in her nudity. Anthony froze. He knew he shouldn’t look but he couldn’t help himself. Her skin was so perfect. The drops of water on her skin making him want to lick it and trail patterns on her skin with his tongue. She smelled of lavender and strawberries, and it made Anthony hard.
She walked closer to him, her nipples calling his eyes to them. He wanted to lick them, wanted to taste the sweet inviting skin.
“Like what you see?” Her voice sounded too sexy, his cock was throbbing, already too large to fit into his jeans.
“Mmhmm,” he said, lost for words. She ran her hands down his shirt, her fingers scorching his skin. He suddenly felt too hot, and he needed to take his shirt off. When he didn’t move, she started to unbutton his shirt, so slowly it drove him crazy. Moving her hands away Anthony seemed to regain himself as he tore his clothes off his body like they were burning him. Now they were both naked, with nothing between their hot skin. He bent his head and kissed her deeply before leading her to the bed and pushing her down on it.
He had waited for this for so long, that all that deprivation made him so eager. He parted her legs and found her hot wet pussy. Bending his head to it he began to eat, to lick and to bite bringing her so close to the edge with everything that he did.
“I can’t take it anymore Tony. I need to feel you inside me right now,” Shelly moaned.
She didn’t have to say another word, Tony wanted to feel her warmth surround him. He went to her, using his forearm as a jack as he held himself above her and started to seek entrance.
“You feel so tight,” he moaned, burying his length in her as he began to move, slowly at first, but picking up his pace as he went on and her moans got louder.
“To-To-Tony…” Her moans turned into screams as she orgasmed, Anthony not far behind her.
***
“Tired yet?” Shelly asked, coming up for air.
“Not even close,” Anthony said laughing. They had spent three days in bed now; waking up, eating, sleeping, and fucking, Shelly didn’t think it could get any better than that. Last night Anthony had given her multiple orgasms back to back, and this morning he had woken her up with amazing oral sex. Sex with him was the best sex she had ever had. She never wanted their time together to end, but she knew they really didn’t have much more time to spend together.
She had signed the contract to launch her fashion house in New York City. It was a huge decision. Shelly didn’t want to move, but more importantly than that, she wanted to start her own company and this was the best opportunity for her. Then why did her heart feel so heavy? Pushing the thought away from her mind, she kissed Anthony full on his lips. “Breakfast?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Anthony said smiling.
“Okay, hold on, I will make you something real quick,” she said.
“Don’t be long.” Anthony hit her ass playfully as she left the bed, loving the way it jiggled. He smiled to himself as he folded his hands behind his head and rested against a pillow. He was happy.
The generic caller tune for an iPhone filled the room as the blanket began to vibrate. He spent a few minutes fishing for it before he finally found it and answered.
“Hello,” he said into the phone.
“Tony, it’s Matty,” Matthews’s voice reached him. “Good news, the police just caught the person that’s been trying to kill Shelly for so long. You will never believe who it is.”
“Who?” Anthony was intrigued.
“Doris,” he said, the surprise evident in his voice. “She said she was jealous or something and wanted to take her place.” He sounded disappointed. “Such a foolish girl. Good news though, you don’t have to worry about her anymore, bodyguard duties are over. Please help me pass this on to her.”
“Ok sure,” Anthony said, as the call came to an end. This wasn’t good news, he had just made headway with Shelly as her bodyguard, and now saying she was okay could open their relationship to a number of things. What if she still said she didn’t want a relationship? What if she didn’t want him? Anthony decided to keep the information to himself for as long as possible.
He climbed off the bed and went to meet her in the kitchen. “Hmm, something smells good,” he said, creeping up to her and kissing her neck. She erupted in a fit of giggles.
“Wait…I’m almost done,” she said mid-giggle as she struggled to switch off the stove as he refused to let her go.
“You smell so good,” he said, kissing her neck, and then going down. He untied her red satin robe to reveal her smooth brown skin. It was so soft to the touch, he buried his face in her breasts and began to suckle like a new born, his other hand moving down to find her already drenched pussy, his dick jerking, feeling like it was growing larger. How was it possible that his dick was growing harder? He put his index finger into her pussy and began to move it, her moans making him move it harder and faster.
“So wet,” he moaned, not able to take it anymore. He pulled his hand out, turned her around so her sweet round ass was facing his dick. “Bend over,” he whispered, even as he bent her over and inserted his dick in one sweet motion.
“Oh god,” Shelly moaned as he began to move, filling her up with every move he took. “Faster,” she moaned, as Anthony increased his pounding. He was so close to cumming but he held himself just long enough for her to cum before he joined her in ecstasy.
Three hours later they were lying in bed, licking chocolate from each other’s body and laughing when Shelly’s phone rang.
“Hello?” she said picking it up. “Oh, hi Arianna.” Anthony’s relaxed expression changed. “Oh you did...mhm…mhm..He did?” She looked towards Anthony. “Hmm, ok Arianna, thank you very much. That’s good news.” It was obvious Anthony knew what was coming next even before she said it.
“So that was Arianna, she just told me that they caught the person trying to kill me.”
“Oh, she did?” Anthony feigned ignorance.
“Yes, she did, and she said you already knew. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Uhm, I may have just not gotten around to it yet,” he lied.
“Seriously? That’s good news, why would you hide that from me?”
“Well…” He sat up. “I don’t want to lose you, I know you don’t want a relationship and all we have is this, but with the person trying to kill you caught…” He stopped like he couldn’t find the words.
“Hey, hey, hey.” Shelly said. “Relax.” She moved her hands over his back. “I’m not going to leave you because I’m no longer in danger Tony.”
“What are you saying?” he asked cautiously.
“I’m saying that…if you are still interested, I would like to try the dating thing,” she said, her eyes lowered. Anthony used his thumb to lift her face up so he could look directly into his eyes.
“If I am still interested?” he asked. “I have never stopped being interested.” He kissed her softly on her lips. “I want to be with you.”
“That’s great,” she said smiling sadly. “However…there is a little hiccup.”
“What is it Shelly?” he asked sounding really worried.
“I have something to tell you,” she said. “I got an opportunity to start my own fashion house in New York.” She fidgeted with her fingers. “I start after the current fashion season.” Anthony was silent for a while. “Please say something.”
“It’s fine. We will make it work,” he said, kissing her forehead. “As long as we are together.”
***
Later that day, they went to the police station together to see a cop who told them how they had caught Doris, Shelly was still in shock that Doris had hated her enough to try and kill her. She had confronted her about it expecting her to at least be remorseful as she was in jail, but Doris had been headstrong and had told her that she had herself to blame for coming into her life and taking what was supposed to be hers.
“Can you believe what she said?” she asked Tony, her mind still racing in anger. “I wanted to slap some sense into her.”
“No use for that now, she’s safely behind bars.” His tone was low and bare, like he was there but barely. Shelly glanced at him, he had been like that since they had left the house. Come to think of it, it had been since she had told him about New York, he had said that he was okay with it, but she wasn’t so sure about that.