Serenity (Inevitable Book 5)

by Janet Nissenson

  It was a much sexier look than normal for her, and from the way he was reacting, it seemed that Matthew approved wholeheartedly of the switch up. He was breathing heavily as his lips touched the side of her neck just beneath her ear, then began to trace a slow, sensual path down her body. He unhooked the fragile bra deftly, tossing it over the side of the bed, as his hands cupped the small, firm mounds of her breasts. His tongue flicked over one small, dark red nipple before his mouth closed over the entire areola and sucked hard. Sasha gasped, her hands clasping his head closer to her, as her lower body arched off the mattress in reaction.

  He was unhurried tonight, seeming intent on taking his time with her, a departure from the way he usually made love to her - oftentimes with a hungry desperation, an almost boyishly eager desire to please her, and even a shy hesitancy at times, as though he lacked confidence in his skills. But he was using every one of the erotic skills he possessed now, employing them masterfully as he kissed and caressed his way down her body.

  Sasha was the impatient one this time around as he continued to arouse her unbearably, her pelvis rotating in a circular motion as she silently begged him to satisfy the need that was quickly heating up to the boiling point. But Matthew refused to be rushed, and even the simple act of removing her panties became a seduction, as he used his teeth to slowly tug them down her legs. Then and only then did he give her what she’d been craving all evening - the slow, deliberate thrust of his long fingers deep inside her vagina, where she was wet and needy and so aroused that it took just a few quick pumps before she climaxed.

  He gave her no time to recover, sliding down the mattress until his head was positioned between her thighs, his hands spreading her legs apart to give him the access he wanted. Using his lips, tongue, and fingers, he focused solely on her pleasure, on making her writhe and moan and pant until she was consumed with the need to climax again. Matthew cleverly used all of the skills she’d helped him develop, with a whispered word of encouragement or a subtle instruction now and then. He bore no resemblance whatsoever to the rather clumsy, adorably eager lover he’d been during the early weeks of their relationship. For tonight, at least, he seemed to be thriving on acting the role of the dominant, the one who was in complete control of their lovemaking, and Sasha was deliriously happy to let him do whatever he desired.

  She offered no resistance, therefore, when he flipped her over onto her belly, especially since her body was still shuddering in reaction to the orgasm he’d so cleverly coaxed from it. Except for a small gasp of surprise, she didn’t react as he bent one of her legs at the knee, angling it slightly away from her body, and then smoothly thrust inside of her from behind. His chest was pressed closely against her back, effectively trapping her in place. With any of her previous lovers, Sasha would have resisted this particular sexual position, would have felt too dominated and helpless. But she trusted Matthew implicitly, knew that he simply didn’t have it in him to hurt another being, whether intentionally or otherwise, and gave herself over to him completely.

  He seemed to sense her surrender, her willingness to let him take her over, and that realization unleashed the wildness in him. His sensual, almost teasing lovemaking quickly gave way to hungry, unrestrained fucking, until both of them became lost in a haze of lust and need. Growling, he reared back onto his knees, his hands at her hips pulling her into a kneeling position, and Sasha cried out in mingled surprise and pleasure at how deeply he penetrated her from this angle. The heavy sac of his testicles slapped against her buttocks with each savage thrust, and she had to bite down on her lip more than once to stifle a little scream of half-pain/half-pleasure.

  Bracing himself on the mattress with one arm, Matthew snaked the other around her waist, as his palm slid down over her quivering belly. At the first brush of his thumb over the swollen, tender nub of her clit, she came undone, the orgasm rendering her incapable of either speech or thought as her legs nearly gave way from under her. As the blood rushed through her ears, she was barely aware when Matthew, too, found his release, his body collapsing onto hers as he shuddered over and over again.

  Sasha wasn’t certain how long they remained in exactly that position, either half-asleep or lost in a haze. But it was the sound of fireworks in the distance, and the multi-colored glow that suddenly lit up the room, that eventually roused them. Groaning, Matthew eased himself off of her, rolling onto his side, and ran a hand soothingly down the length of her spine.

  “Guess we missed midnight,” he joked, his voice hoarse.

  She snickered. “We were too busy setting off our own fireworks, I guess. But, come on. The fireworks show probably just got started. And since we have practically a front row seat out on your balcony, I don’t want to miss this.”

  They quickly bundled themselves up into robes, with Sasha grabbing the brand new one of dark green cashmere that had been one of Matthew’s many Christmas gifts, and hurried out onto the balcony. She shivered despite the warmth of her new robe, and he promptly cuddled her close against him to ward off the chill of the night air.

  “Happy New Year, Sasha,” he murmured against her curls as they watched another glorious burst of color fill the sky.

  She wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his shoulder. “And a very Happy New Year to you, too,” she replied. “I hope that this next year is a much happier one for you, Matthew.”

  “Well, it’s definitely starting off a hell of a lot better than last year’s did,” he declared with a grin. “And I’m not even referring to the sex. Which, by the way, was awe inspiring. I’m not sure if those are the right words to use to describe it, but, hey, I write computer code not poetry, after all.”

  Sasha laughed. “Those are the exact right words,” she assured him. “And it was the same for me.”

  They stood together quietly for several more minutes, content to watch the fireworks display being held along the San Francisco waterfront, until Sasha began to shiver from the cold.

  “Inside with you,” he insisted. “Besides, we’ve still got half a bottle of champagne to finish and dessert.”

  “And you have presents to open,” she reminded him. “Though I’m a little reluctant to give them to you after everything you just lavished on me. It’s nowhere near on the same scale, you know, not even close.”

  “Hey,” scolded Matthew gently. “I already told you, Sasha. Having you in my life is all the Christmas present I need. What you’ve done for me in these past months can’t be measured in terms of material things or monetary value. You didn’t need to buy me a gift of any sort.”

  She retrieved two small packages from the living room where she’d left her bag earlier. They were simply wrapped in sage green paper and tied with a bit of burlap ribbon.

  He lifted the larger of the two packages to his nose and took a sniff. “This smells like you,” he told her with a smile. “I’ve never quite figured out what scent this is, or if it’s soap or shampoo or just your skin. But it’s a combination of lemon and maybe a bit of rosemary or sage, and to me it’s way, way more appealing than any perfume I’ve ever smelled.”

  He carefully removed the paper from the first package, which turned out to be a collector’s edition of The Prophet by Khalil Gibran. Matthew had a vague recollection of having read the book at some point during his college years, but was unable to recall any specific quotes or passages. Reverently, because he already knew that Sasha had chosen this gift for him with great care, he opened the book to a random page. The first quote that jumped out at him seemed unusually timely under the circumstances - “the greatest of wealth is the richness of the soul.”

  “It’s one of my very favorite books,” ventured Sasha as he continued to flip through the pages. “When I was training to be a yoga teacher, I had to read a number of books, some of them sacred texts, others handbooks on anatomy. And while The Prophet wasn’t required reading, one of my teachers suggested it. I pick up my copy almost every day to read a particular p
assage. I hope that you can find some inspiration from it, Matthew. I know that I have many times.”

  Matthew set the book down carefully, and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “Thank you, Sasha. I already know that I’ll treasure it. Now, what do we have here?”

  The second package revealed a small black velveteen drawstring bag, and from its depths he drew out a tubular shaped piece of what looked like onyx suspended from a long suede cord.

  “It’s actually black tourmaline,” clarified Sasha before he could ask. “I’m sure you aren’t familiar with all of the healing properties of crystals, and most people think all of that is just a bunch of nonsense. But this particular crystal is known for its grounding properties, and is used to combat stress and fatigue. I thought, well, that you might like to keep it with you at your office or when you travel. I know most men aren’t really into jewelry so you don’t have to actually wear it. You can just hold it in your palm for a few minutes, and keep it in your pocket or a desk drawer the rest of the time.”

  In reply, he pulled the cord over his head, then pressed the tourmaline into his bare skin for a moment.

  “No,” he replied firmly. “It stays right here. This is the most thoughtful gift anyone has ever given me.”

  She smiled, pleased that he seemed so touched by the present. “It’s not very expensive, you know,” she chided. “A close friend of mine owns a metaphysical shop in the Castro district and gave me a good deal on it.”

  Matthew shook his head. “You could have picked it out of a bubble gum machine for all I care. It doesn’t matter in the least to me how much it cost, because the real value is the thought that went into it. I’ll always treasure it, Sasha, because you gave it to me.”

  The look in his eyes as he gazed down at her was both tender and almost frighteningly intense at the same time, enough so that she glanced away quickly, not wanting to think about what that sort of look might really mean.

  “Now, didn’t you mention something about champagne and dessert?” she asked brightly, intentionally lightening up the very serious mood. “I seem to have worked up something of an appetite.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Mid-January

  “You know, when I first saw that dress, I thought it might not be the right color for you, given that your hair and skin are close to the same shade. But I couldn’t have been more wrong. It’s perfect for you, Sasha. And I’m totally impressed that you found such a gorgeous dress in a consignment store. You’ve got great taste.”

  Sasha gave Julia a lopsided grin. “Well, I can’t take all the credit, I’m afraid. I know how difficult it is for you to get around these days, and Tessa was busy with all the last minute details for your baby shower. So, since I didn’t want to bother either of you, I took my landlords with me.”

  Tessa frowned. “Both of them? I thought you told me only one had good fashion sense.”

  Sasha’s grin quickly changed to a grimace. “That would be Chad. The one who actually found this dress in the racks. The other one is Julio, who tried to help but unfortunately kept pulling out the most atrocious things I’ve ever seen. I can’t believe anyone actually bought those dresses in the first place, and that now there’s someone else willing to put out good money for them.”

  Julia wrinkled her nose, then winced when one or both of the twins gave her a kick, before rubbing her swollen belly soothingly. “Ouch! These two devils are really active today. I hope they don’t decide to kick me again when I’m in the middle of lining your eyes, Sasha. Otherwise, your makeup might turn out a little scary looking.”

  “You look gorgeous,” Tessa told Sasha warmly. “Absolutely gorgeous. And that’s without a lick of makeup or any accessories. Julia’s right - that dress could have been made for you. You’re lucky it didn’t need any alterations.”

  Sasha shrugged. “Just a couple of minor things that I was able to do myself. I learned how to be handy with a needle and thread when I was still a young girl. There were always last minute repairs that had to be made to our costumes before a competition or performance.”

  She had told her two friends about the years she had competed in ballroom dance as a child and adolescent, relieved to discover that she could actually laugh about some of the experiences now.

  “You know, we’re still waiting to see pictures of you from back then,” reminded Julia, who was sipping peppermint tea and nibbling on one of the snickerdoodle cookies that Tessa had baked that morning. “And don’t try and lie and say you don’t have any, because we won’t believe you.”

  “Unfortunately, there may be a few tucked away in the deep, dark recesses of a bureau drawer somewhere,” she admitted reluctantly. “I’ll show them to you someday. But I’ll warn you now, you probably won’t even recognize me. I showed them to Julio once, and he said I was wearing more makeup than a female impersonator. He should know - apparently he was one at some really sordid point in his life that I don’t think I want to hear about.”

  Tessa gave a delicate little shudder. “Agreed. But I’m with Julia - I do want to see those pictures one of these days. And we’ll make sure to keep the makeup for tonight very light.”

  Julia nodded emphatically. “No one is going to mistake you for a dude trying to look like a woman. Now, go take the dress off for now so we can glam you up a bit.”

  Obediently Sasha walked out of Tessa’s lavish master bathroom into the bedroom, and carefully shimmied out of the one-shouldered, pale gold silk Grecian-styled gown. Tessa had thoughtfully left a spare bathrobe on the bed for Sasha to wear while having her makeup and hair done, and she slipped into it after carefully hanging up the dress.

  It had been Tessa’s suggestion that Sasha get ready for tonight’s event at the Gregson home, especially since Tessa and Ian were also attending the charity ball benefitting the local children’s hospital. Sasha had gratefully accepted the offer, especially since she was still having all manner of doubts and uncertainties about attending the event as Matthew’s guest.

  He had tentatively brought the subject up to her a couple of weeks ago, and she had known from the way he’d stammered and stuttered that he was just a bit nervous about what he wanted to say to her.

  “Uh, I, uh, need to ask you something,” he’d mumbled. “And you can totally say no, I would definitely understand because I’m guessing it just isn’t your sort of thing. Matter of fact, it’s not really my favorite thing to do either, but my board of directors is really pushing me on this one, so I’ve got to attend. And I don’t mind in the least going solo, the last thing I want is for you to feel obligated to go - ”

  Sasha had placed a finger over his lips. “Shush. Stop stalling and just ask me, okay? Where exactly would you like me to go?”

  “It’s a dinner, more like a formal dress ball, actually. A charity fundraiser for the local children’s hospital. And since MBI has very close affiliations with the hospital - we’ve pioneered some of our medical software programs there - it’s pretty much expected that I should attend. Especially since I’ve been blowing off a number of similar events since I filed for divorce.”

  “Hmm.” Sasha had pondered the matter briefly. “When you say formal, what do you mean exactly? Like a tuxedo for you and a long dress for me?”

  He’d nodded. “Yes. And I know you probably hate getting dressed up that way, and I wouldn’t even ask under normal circumstances. But this one dinner is particularly important, so - ”

  “Yes. I’ll go with you,” she’d interrupted before he could continue arguing his case. “It does sound like a very good cause, and if your firm is that involved with the hospital you should definitely be there. When is it?”

  He had given her the details then - the date, time, location. The ball was being held at the Gregson Hotel on Nob Hill, and Sasha had been pleased to learn that Ian and Tessa would also be attending. Matthew had promised he would make the necessary arrangements so that the Gregsons would sit at their table, and had been so pleased at h
er consent that he’d given her a loud, smacking kiss square on the lips.

  And he had also offered to take her shopping for a gown, shoes, and the other accessories she would need, but on this matter Sasha had remained adamant.

  “No, Matthew. Thank you,” she’d added graciously. “It’s very kind of you to offer, but I’d prefer to buy my own dress. I can ask Tessa and Julia for advice on what would be appropriate.”

  But he had stubbornly continued to press the matter. “Sasha, I’m not sure you have any idea just how much a dress and shoes and whatnot cost. At least, the sort of outfit that all of the other women will be wearing.”

  Grinning, she’d chucked him on the chin playfully. “Don’t worry,” she had laughed. “I won’t embarrass you and show up in one of my usual outfits. Or, like my mother calls them, “those hippie clothes”. I attended both Tessa’s and Julia’s weddings, so I have a very good idea of what to wear.”

  Matthew had frowned. “But you can’t afford something like that,” he’d argued. “And since it’s because of me that you’d be attending, the least you can let me do is buy you a dress. We can set a dollar limit, if you’d like.”

  She had given a firm shake of her head. “I can get my own dress,” she insisted anew. “I’ll take Chad or Tessa along with me. Julia would love nothing better than to go along, but she’s having some issues getting around comfortably these days, with the twins due in less than two months.”

  To mollify him, Sasha had promised that if the outfit for the dinner turned out to be ridiculously out of her budget she would let him know.

  She’d told Tessa about the situation the very next day, while the two of them were enjoying a cup of tea after yoga class. Tessa had immediately offered to loan Sasha a dress and pair of shoes, but that idea had been nixed upon calculating the nearly four inch difference in their height , and two size difference in shoes. A phone call to Julia hadn’t provided a solution, either, because while she was much closer to Sasha in height, her pre-pregnancy figure was still a size or two larger.