Protein Shake

by Alexis Angel

  “Well, he’s going to have to make a few adjustments to his diet, and some physical exercise will help as well. But if he’s willing to make these changes, I believe Mr. Donovan’s heart won’t trouble him that much for the rest of his life.”

  “Thank you, doctor,” Liam says and, even though his voice is steady and poised as always, I can notice a slight tone of relief in his words. “Do you think we can go and see him?”

  “Absolutely,” the doctor (Dr. Anderson, according to the name tag hanging from the breast-pocket of his coat) nods, waving with his arm toward the long corridor to his right, the one leading to the room where Liam’s father is. “He’s in room 213. But make it quick, please. Mr. Donovan needs some rest today.”

  “Will do,” Liam replies, and then he turns on his heels and starts marching down the corridor, his mother and I trailing after him. Stopping in front of the room with the 213 number plaque, Liam grabs at the handle and turns it, pushing the door open and stepping inside carefully.

  The room is small, but there’s a certain modern sleekness to the place. More than looking like an hospital room, it reminds me of an hotel room. But what was I expecting? The Donovans are a wealthy family, and I should’ve known that they wouldn’t care about cutting costs when it comes to the health of their loved ones.

  Liam’s father is sitting on his bed, the sheets up to his waist, and his whole face lights up with a smile as he sees his son and wife come in. Even though he’s much older than Liam, there’s a kind of charming gruffness to the way the years have carved up the lines in his face. And his eyes… They’re exactly like Liam’s - lively and smart, they tell of an hunger for life that knows no boundaries.

  “There ya are,” he says, opening his arms as Liam walks up to him. Doing it carefully, Liam hugs his father and then steps to the side, giving his place to his mother. “And you too,” he continues, smiling as he kisses her. “And who’s this lovely lady? I hope she isn’t my long lost daughter,” he says with a laugh, groaning as he shifts his sitting position on the bed.

  “Be nice,” Mrs. Donovan warns him with a smile, playfully punching him in the arm.

  “This is Cara, Dad,” Liam introduces me, and I take a few steps toward the bed. I offer my hand to Liam’s father and he grabs it heartily, looking at me with an expression of surprise.

  “Cara… That’s a beautiful name. Short for…?”

  “Caralyn,” I reply, something about him putting me immediately at ease. Even though I’ve never met him before, it feels like I’m face-to-face with an older and wiser Liam.

  “Does this mean my lovely wife won’t be the only Mrs. Donovan anymore?” He asks me, his smart eyes then darting toward Liam. I know it doesn’t take a Sherlock Holmes type to figure out the reason why I’m inside this room with the Donovan’s, but still… Liam’s father saw it in just a few seconds.

  “Come on, Dad,” Liam laughs, “you should worry about eating less steaks than about me getting a girlfriend.” Everyone in the room laughs at Liam’s joke (including me) but, at the same time, I feel an iron knot growing inside my stomach. Do you know when people feel butterflies inside their stomachs? It’s exactly the same except, instead of butterflies, I’m talking about rusty iron nails.

  “What? I’m just an old man that wants to see his grandchildren running around,” Mr. Donovan continues happily, jabbing at Liam with the kind of ease that speaks of a close relationship.

  “Ah, come on, Dad,” Liam laughs again, running one hand through his hair.

  “Don’t mind him, Cara,” Mr. Donovan tells me softly, holding my hand and looking straight into my eyes. “He might be a tough nut to crack, but he’s a good man deep down.”

  “I know,” I tell him with a whisper, my heart tightening up inside my chest.

  Being here with Liam and his parents, acting as if I’m his girlfriend, pretending that there’s going to be a future for the two of us… It’s too much for me. And that’s because my job fooled me: this time I’m not going after an asshole - I’m going after the most upstanding man I’ve ever met.

  And, hearing the words Mrs. Donovan on Liam’s dad’s mouth… It made me realize that I wouldn’t mind being called that. No, not all.

  Except I’m a total fraud. This whole relationship was built on a string of well-calculated lies, and Liam and his parents have no idea about who the real Cara is and what she does for a living.

  And once the truth gets out…

  It’ll be the end of this.

  Cara

  “You okay?” Liam asks me, reaching across the seat and placing his hand on top of mine. I have my forehead pressed against the window of the limo, watching the streets passes us by, the pale glow of the moonlight pushing away the darkness. It’s still late in the night, but we’re still a few hours away from a sunrise. We would’ve stayed in the hospital, but Dr. Anderson pretty much sent us on our way.

  “I’m good,” I tell him, sitting up on the seat and looking into his eyes. Somehow, I manage to fake a smile. I don’t know how or when it happened but, somewhere along the way, the job I was supposed to do became a living nightmare.

  For the first time in my life, I met a man I could envision a future with… And I met him because my sole purpose was to destroy him. Hooray - now I know what it means to have destiny play a cruel joke on you.

  “You’re pretty quiet. Is there something on your mind?” He asks me again, trying to draw the curtain back hiding my most private thoughts, but I just smile and reassure him that I’m okay. He smiles back at me, believing me - which isn’t that surprising, since I pretty much lie for a living.

  “And you? Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. I was a bit worried back there, yeah, but everything turned out alright,” he tells me with a smile, softly holding my hand. “Hey, thanks for coming with me. I really appreciate it.”

  “You don’t have to thank me. I know how it feels like to… to receive bad news,” I tell him, my mind bringing up old faded memories from so long ago.

  “You do…?”

  “Yeah,” I nod, thinking back to the first time I attended a funeral. “My father died of cancer back when I was in highschool. We never saw it coming. One day he gets a call from the doctor, the diagnosis is pretty dire and… well, three months later he was dead,” I say, remembering how my father looked in the hospital bed. He was so frail and thin, a distant memory of the man I was used to seeing as strong and unshakable.

  “Cara… I’m so sorry,” he says, his words tender and sweet, genuine care in his voice.

  “It’s okay. I’ve made my peace with it. It hurt a lot at first… but then you learn to treasure the good memories. It’s just life, I guess. No one can run away from it.”

  “I know. Life’s tough,” he replies solemnly, and then he averts his gaze. Looking out the window, he remains in silence for a long while, and I can tell that there’s something in his mind.

  “What is it, Liam…?” I ask him and, when he turns to me, there’s a deep sorrow tainting the usually brightness of his eyes.

  “It’s nothing,” he replies, faking a smile. “I lost someone too. And, you’re right… It sucks, but we gotta treasure the good moments.”

  “Who was it…?” I ask him, my chest feeling heavy as I wonder if I should even be asking this question. Grief is one of these things most people like to keep in the shadows, and I know that Liam isn’t one to open up easily.

  “It was my brother,” he tells me after a long pause, and I just let his words hang in the air between us. “He enlisted in the army when he just eighteen. He wanted to serve his country, you know? And he did - he served in Iraq for almost two years. But then… Well, then life happened, I guess. He got in a firefight in Ramadi, got shot and didn’t make it.”

  “Jesus, Liam, I had no idea. I’m so sorry,” I tell him, feeling the sting of tears in my eyes.

  “I just wish I had been there with him, you know? Maybe I could’ve… I don’t know, things might have been
different.”

  “Liam…” I merely whisper, having no idea what to tell him. “There’s nothing you could have done.”

  “Maybe. I served in Iraq as well, you know? But we got shipped to different cities. I should’ve pushed for a reassignment, try and make it to the same platoon he was in… But it doesn’t matter now, does it?” He whispers, that sad smile still on his lips.

  I lost my father when I was just a teenager, and that was already hard enough for me - I have no idea how it’d be like to lose a brother and feel responsible for him at the same time. I don’t know if I’d be able to walk around with a smile on my face if I were carrying that much pain inside me...

  “Hey, don’t worry. I’ve made my peace with it, just like you,” he says and, even though I notice the sorrow in his words, I believe him. “But this is part of why I want to keep my parents out of the spotlight. They’ve already been through enough. And, besides, I’m old enough to be the face of the Donovans and carry that responsibility.”

  “Oh, Liam,” I whisper, looking into his and feeling my heart tightening up even more. I was so wrong about him - I’ve become so jaded with men that, even though I should’ve stopped this charade long ago, I kept going and going. And now here I am, falling for him.

  Yes, I said it - I’m falling for Liam.

  “I just don’t want to lose anyone else again,” he continues, gently squeezing my hand on his. “I don’t want to lose the ones I love.”

  “You won’t,” I reply, lowering my voice until it becomes just a whisper. Even though I shouldn’t have said this, the words escaped my mouth before I could stop them. This time, my heart trumped my brain.

  Smiling, he places one hand on my face and leans in, his mouth looking for mine.

  Closing my eyes, I surrender to his kiss.

  Cara

  I part my lips slightly, my tongue reaching for his and dancing in slow soft circles around it. His hands are on my waist, his long fingers firmly planted on my hips. We kiss in abandonment, my fingers running through his hair and disheveling it as my heart starts beating faster and faster. I let my hands fall down to the side of his face and I trace the hard lines of his jaw, the warmness on his skin calling to me.

  “I want you. Right now,” he suddenly says, taking one hand to my neck and yanking on my hair, forcing my head back. I open my eyes, locking them on his, and I stop breathing for a whole second as he continues. “I never wanted anyone as bad as I want you, Cara.”

  Each word that leaves his lips is like opium, travelling from my ears to my brain and drowning it in numbness. I try to think of an appropriate response, but all I can do is mouth an anxious “yes.” Leaning toward me, he pushes me back against the seat. My heart is drumming so hard I half-expect it to claw its way out of my chest anytime now.

  “I want to fuck you,” he says, leaning in and whispering in my ear, his full lips brushing against my skin. My heart rises and falls at a hurried pace, my lungs working overtime as his eyes seem to devour me. Impatient with my silence, he yanks harder on my hair, his lips turning into a hard line. “I want it bad.”

  “Do it, Liam… Do it,” I find myself saying, my voice sounding foreign to my own ears.

  “I will,” he grins, the way his lips curl upward making him look even more beautiful. My mouth turns dry as his deep voice reaches me and, of course, as my mouth goes dry, my pussy becomes wetter than it has ever been. Maybe there’s some correlation there.

  Still with one hand on my hair, he takes the other one to the hemline of my dress, the tip of his fingers brushing against the naked skin above my right knee. I feel my skin prickling as his fingers hike up my leg, gently lifting the dress in the process. The closer he gets to my pussy, the wetter I become, a wildfire of desire spreading inside of me. I almost reach for his wrist and force his hand against my pussy, but I’m so entranced by his touch I simply sit still, the perfect victim to his teasing.

  Unblinking, I stare into his eyes as his fingers close in on my groins, my insides burning with anticipation. But instead of simply going for it, he simply traces the contour of my thong with his index finger, going back and forth over both my groins without actually touching my pussy. Guided by unconscious desire, I find myself bucking my hips at him, aching to feel his hand on me. The moment I do it, he takes his hand out from under my dress and yanks on my hair again.

  “Keep still,” he tells me, deviousness flickering in his eyes. I nod, pursing my lips and trying to ignore my own instincts. In an instant, his hand is under my dress again, his index finger gently running along the place where fabric and skin meet. He goes like that for what seems like an eternity, although it couldn’t have been more than a minute - it’s easy to lose track of time when you’re so wet your juices have soaked your underwear completely - and then he finally turns his wrist and flattens the palm of his hand over the front of my thong. I can’t help but gasp as I succumb to the pressure of his fingers on my pussy. I throw my head back and close my eyes, a sweet numbness embracing every single one of my nerve endings.

  Liam starts rubbing my pussy softly, his fingers pressed tight over my wetness. A purred moan leaves my lips as he does it, the whole world fading away around me. With a flick of his fingers he pulls my thong to the side and brushes one fingertip over my folds, his touch making my brain almost explode.

  “You’re so wet,” he says, his finger going back and forth over my drenched lips. “I love it.”

  “Please,” I mutter, not even knowing what I’m asking for. I want him to slide his finger deep inside me, I want to feel his cock pushing past my inner lips and lodging itself inside my pussy - I want it all, and I want it right now.

  Before I can even react, he parts my inner lips and slides his finger in, moving it inside me like a hook and pressing his fingertip in that sweet hidden spot. I moan again, this time louder, and he presses harder against my G-spot. I swear to God, I’m so delirious with desire I have no idea on how I’m managing to stand still.

  He starts to move his finger in and out of my pussy, each time his hand moves the rhythm growing. Soon enough his finger is moving so fast I’m no longer moaning, I’m just trying to keep breathing through the avalanche of sensations that rages inside me. Letting go of my hair, he takes his other hand to between my thighs and presses his thumb over my clit, applying just enough pressure to force a moan out of my lips once more.

  Working on my clit with his thumb, his index finger flying in and out of my pussy, he guides me to the edge and, with a simple word, throws me off of it.

  “Come,” he whispers, his lips brushing against my ear. “Come for me.”

  Just like that, I go off. I close my eyes again, breathing hard through my gritted teeth as all muscles in my body become tight and hard, uncontrollable tension pooling in every single fiber of my being. Like a bomb, pleasure explodes inside of me, my muscles letting go of all that tension as a forceful scream leaves my throat. My voice quivers as he stops moving his finger and just presses it hard against my G-spot, rubbing it there with the mastery of a man that knows women almost too well.

  I press my back against the seat, trembling as he slides his finger out of my pussy and looks me in the eyes.

  “This was just a taste,” he grins, that sweet mischievousness in his lips driving me completely mad. “Plenty more to come… If you behave, that is.” As he speaks, he brings his fingers up to my face, and lays the one he had inside of me against my lips. The scent of my own pussy climbs up my nostrils, and I find myself opening my mouth gently, allowing him to slide his finger in. He slides it all the way in, my tongue running along its length and licking it dry of my own juices. Tasting myself I grow even wetter, wanting much more than to just be fingered. I mean, if he can make me feel like this using only one finger and one word, what else can he do? Oh, judging by the look in his eyes, I’m going to find that out pretty soon.

  My instincts taking the wheel, I reach for his crotch, anxious to feel his hard cock pulsing against my fin
gers. But, the moment my hand is just an inch away from him, he moves quickly and grabs my wrist.

  “Not yet,” he tells me firmly, letting go of my wrist and leaning back. “You’ll have to earn that.”

  I lick my lips, anxious to do whatever’s necessary to earn it. I still can’t believe I’m letting him act like this, dominating me as if I were nothing more than a naive innocent girl… But he’s so damn intoxicating. And I’m not just talking about his good looks; no, it goes deeper than that. One hard look into his eyes is enough to realize that Liam Donovan is more than just a man - he’s almost from a completely different breed. Standing here, in the presence of a man that seems so perfect it’s almost unbelievable, what else can I do than obey every single one his words? Sure, I won’t let him push me around forever… But my body demands me to do it right now. I can’t help but submit.

  Liam scoots back and loosens his tie, opening the top button on his shirt as his eyes wander all over my body. I feel him devouring every single inch of naked skin in me, and I know he’s aching for more.

  “Your dress...” He starts to say, the sound of his voice making my skin prickle. “Take it off. Slowly.”

  I take one deep breath, moving my hands to my shoulders and pushing the straps of my dress down my arms. I feel the fabric drooping over my breasts, and I pull on it until my dress is hanging around my waist. Hooking my fingers in it, I sway my hips from side to side, slowly pushing the fabric down my legs until it falls into a heap at my feet.

  Closing the distance between us, he places his hands on my waist and then takes his fingers to my back. I feel his fingertips over the dimples in my lower back, and then he runs them all the way up to my shoulder blades; he moves his fingers across the edge of my bra, stopping only to undo the clasp there. He does it with one single movement, the cups drooping over my breasts.

  I half-expect him to pull the straps down my shoulders, but instead he just moves back. “Take it off,” he commands me, my arms moving by themselves in response. I push the straps down my arms, and then I let the bra fall down to the floor of the limo, right on top of my dress. My nipples are hard, almost desperate to feel his fingers, mouth, and skin on them.