The Reconstruction of Cyprian

by Michelle Love

  It’s hard to believe that same musk oil is used in some perfumes. But it is and perhaps I can formulate something that will work with the odor rather than overpower it.

  Some vanilla, cinnamon, brown sugar which I’ll need to burn first. A few drops of lemon oil should help. I find a couple of cans of tomato sauce. Opening them, I take them to the bathroom with me and slather the stuff all over my body and saturate my hair with it as well.

  Catching a glimpse of what I look like in the mirror has me laughing as I look like something out of a horror film. “Nice,” I compliment myself.

  After an hour of sitting with that stuff on me, I shower it off and go to make my concoction that I’ll put into a spray bottle and douse myself with. Then I’ll go see if Cyprian is even home. There’s always the chance he’s decided not to spend the day with me and go on about his typical Sunday routine of gambling, women, and sex.

  Once I’m dressed in blue jean shorts, and a tank top that covers my black bikini, I head out to the car and take my aviator sunglasses from the visor and put them on.

  Flip flops and clutches don’t work well, so I slip mine off and drive barefooted up the road to the estate I left so late last night. I wonder if the light of day will have Cyprian thinking differently about hanging out with me.

  Pulling up to his gate, I press the naughty numbers into the panel and the gate opens for me. I drive up and park in front of the house and am shocked to see him waiting for me at the front door.

  “Hey, you,” he says as he lets out a long whistle.

  I slip my shoes back on and get out of the car as he comes to open my door. “Hi,” I say, a little shyly.

  “Look at that hair! I knew it’d look gorgeous when you let it down.” To my horror, he takes a chunk of it and takes a big whiff of it. I prepare myself for humiliation as I squeeze my eyes shut. A thing he can’t see as my glasses hide it. “Wow, your hair smells amazing. Like nothing I’ve ever smelled before. You have to tell me what shampoo you use. It’s off the charts.”

  How do I explain this?

  I laugh as he takes my hand and pulls me along with him. “I made it myself,” I manage to come up with.”

  “You’re kidding me,” he says as he stops and sniffs my neck. “Your whole body must smell like that. And you made this yourself?”

  With a nod, I say, “I did.”

  “You really are smart, aren’t you?” he asks as he tugs me along.

  “That’s what they tell me,” I say as I pull my shades off as we walk inside. I lay them on a table near the door, so I don’t forget them when I leave.

  “You should patent that and sell the formula or something. It’s that good.” He stops and closes the door then stays in front of me as I’ve become trapped between him and the door. “Did you miss me after you left me last night?”

  Laying my palms against his chest, I smile at him. “Does that mean you missed me, Cyprian?”

  “What if I told you I did?” he asks and runs his nose along my neck, taking in another whiff of me.

  “I’d say that doesn’t sound like a man who says the things you say. So, what are we doing first? I’m starving and making something on the pit was my idea of what to do first.”

  He presses his body against mine, pinning me to the wall as he looks down at me. “I kind of thought we’d get this sexual tension out of the way first.”

  “Think again,” I say then slip down and get away from him. “Is your staff around. I’d love to talk to your cook.”

  “I gave them the day off,” he says as he catches my hand and pulls me back to him. “We’re all alone.” He wraps me up in his strong arms and I laugh.

  “I’m not here for your sexual enjoyment. So, let’s get to the main kitchen and see what we have to cook. I’m dying for some jalapeno wraps. I hope you have some and some cream cheese. I’m sure you have bacon. Who doesn’t have bacon, right?”

  With a chuckle, he says, “You seem to be chattering away, nervously. Are you feeling nervous for some reason, Camilla?”

  “Me?” I ask and hear my voice go up a little too high.

  “Yes, you.” He lets me out of the hold he had on me and leads me to the kitchen.

  “I’m not nervous. Just hungry,” I lie.

  The truth is he’s making me hot and bothered and I have to find something to distract myself from that. I am not a woman who gives her body to a man without true feelings.

  “The kitchen is well stocked, I’m sure. So, let’s go put together what you want. Maybe, once you’ve eaten, you’ll calm down. There’s nothing at all to be nervous about. I can be very gentle or rough if you prefer,” he says, ending with a growl and stopping to pull me into his arms again. “Which do you prefer, Cami?”

  His obvious plan is to get me into his bed and mine is to stay far away from it. Placing my hands on his chest and pushing him back a bit, I say, “When I first make love with a man, I like it gentle. If you must know. Later on, I like it rough now and then. But today there will be none of that. As you are aware of, after our talk last night, I do not have casual sex. If you want me to leave, I will.”

  His eyes soften as he looks at me and a smile curves his lips. “I don’t want you to leave. I’ll ease up on you. Just remember, though, I do want you that way.”

  “Yes, I can tell,” I say as I pull out of his arms and look at the swell in his shorts. “That’s pretty obvious, Cyprian. Now, can we go to the kitchen?”

  With a sigh, he takes my hand and off we go to the kitchen. I hope he doesn’t act this way much more. I don’t know how long I can actually take it!

  CYPRIAN

  “Yeah, well, I think some cloves of garlic would taste great wrapped up with all that other stuff,” I argue as she’s refusing to put them in the jalapeno wraps she’s put everything but the kitchen sink into.

  “I don’t see it lending a flavor that will combine with the chicken, shrimp, cream cheese, bacon and the pepper,” she says as she rolls a piece of bacon around one of the filled pepper halves.

  “But I already peeled a whole thing of it,” I say as I gesture to my work.

  “I see that,” she says as she glances at it. “How about you chop up a yellow onion and chop up that garlic too, we can sauté them to put over the steaks we’re going to grill.”

  “I can do that,” I say and make my way to get an onion. “I’ve never cooked before. This is kind of fun.”

  “I would be surprised but since you come from money, I’m not one bit surprised. You wouldn’t happen to have some beer in this place, would you?” she asks as she wraps another stuffed pepper. “I can make a beer run if you don’t.”

  “You’re not going anywhere. I have every beer they make. Name your poison,” I say as I walk over to the third fridge and open it.

  Her eyes move over the fridge full of all kinds of beer. “Wow, okay how about that one there? It has a skull and crossbones on it, that looks cool.”

  “Okay, it might be too much for a little thing like yourself but I’ll be sure to take good care of you if you get yourself drunk,” I say as I open the bottle and take it to her.

  She laughs. “Little thing? Really? No one has ever called me little. I’m anything but that.”

  I slide my hand along her waist, which is fairly thick but not too much. “I think you’re perfect and I do see you as a little thing. You are smaller than I am.”

  She smiles, shyly as she looks down. “Who isn’t? You’re built like He-man.”

  “So, you have noticed my fine physique? That’s nice to know, Cami. I thought you weren’t looking at all.” I leave her to go get my own beer and turn back, quickly to find her watching me.

  Her eyes move back to the pepper in her hand and her cheeks go pink. I turn back around and feel pretty good about how today will go. She thinks she’s got the self-discipline to withstand my advances but I can already see cracks forming in the wall she has up.

  Looks like today might be more fun than she anticipated…
<
br />   Chapter 6

  CAMILLA

  With a fantastic lunch behind us, we sit at the edge of the pool, dangling our feet in the water. “You are a very good cook. You rival the one I have on staff here. You wouldn’t want a job, would you?” he asks me with a little smile on his handsome face.

  “I have one and a career is soon to follow. Thanks, though. We could, however, make this a Sunday thing. Even if I have to work, it wouldn’t be until seven in the evening. We could spend the afternoon with me teaching you how to cook and perhaps how to drive my car.”

  “We’ll see. I don’t make long-term plans. Never have. Want to get in the water?” he asks as he pulls his shirt off, revealing a very nice six pack and some great pecs. His monster biceps have me wet already and I can only nod my answer at him.

  When he stands up, pulling me up with him, I’m surprised as he takes my shirt from the bottom and lifts it off, over my head. His fingers move quickly to unbutton my blue jean shorts and he shimmies them off me, leaving me standing in front of him in my black bikini.

  A wolf-whistle follows then he has me in his arms. “Hold on tight, Cami. We’re going in.”

  I wrap my arms around him and hold my breath. He runs and jumps and into the water we go. All the way under and when we come up I find my hair in my face and hear him laughing. He tilts me back and my hair is pulled back off my face with a slicked back look. “Thanks,” I tell him for helping me out.

  “Yes, that’s a bunch of hair you have there. I couldn’t let it smother you,” he says as he walks along, still holding me.

  There’s never been a man who picked me up and carried me before. I’m not huge but I’m not small either. The way Cyprian can pick me up, like I don’t weigh a thing, is pretty cool, in my book.

  I wish he wasn’t such a player.

  Our bodies touching, skin to skin has me thinking things I shouldn’t. I find him setting me down on some kind of a bench at the edge of the pool and he places his hands on it in front of me and lets his legs float out behind him. “Cyprian, where do you see yourself in say, five years?”

  “Here, doing what I do. Working. Making people money. I suppose you’ll be a big scientist by then.” He moves his hands off the bench and onto my thighs.

  I push away a lock of his light brown hair that’s fallen into his face. “I hope so. Summer’s nearly over and my classes will be starting up again. I’m only taking one summer class now and I’m not very busy but when the summer ends and my classes begin, I’ll be swamped all the time.”

  “Then you should get in some fun while you still can,” he says as he moves in close.

  I pull back. “By fun, you must mean sex and that’s not the kind of fun I can have with you.”

  “Oh, but you can,” he says and attempts to kiss me again.

  Moving my head, his lips land on my cheek, but not far from my lips. I have to fight myself not to turn and take the kiss he’s offering. But I manage. “Cyprian, you’re being silly.” I laugh it off and find him pulling me into his arms.

  Our bodies are flush and I can feel the thump against my stomach as he grows. Even though the water is cool, my body is hot as hell. “One kiss, Camilla. One sweet kiss then I will leave you alone, for a little while.”

  “No,” I say, quickly.

  Leaning over me, holding me tight, his mouth moves up my neck until his teeth take my earlobe and he nibbles it. My knees go weak and I’m glad we’re in the water or he’d know the effect he’s having on me. “Are you afraid it will leave you wanting more?”

  I don’t know what to say. The answer is, yes but I don’t want him to know that. “Cyprian, please stop.”

  His arms go loose and he lets me go. Moving back, he swims backward. “Okay. Do you want to come jump off the big rock with me?”

  I nod and swim after him as he makes his way to the large rock at the other end of the pool. My body is still tingling from his attention and I don’t think coming to hang out with him was smart.

  This is much harder than I expected it to be…

  Chapter 7

  CYPRIAN

  “Raiders of the Lost Ark? You want to watch that old movie. I can get things that are still in the theaters and that’s what you want?” I ask Cami as she’s curled up in one of the leather theater lounge chairs with a soft, light blue blanket wrapped around her.

  Her hair is still damp and hanging around her face in spiral curls and all I want to do is scoop her up and take her to my bedroom. Then take her to Heaven with me. But she’s very good at keeping herself out of men’s bedrooms, it seems.

  “I watched that movie only one time when I was a kid and I liked it and never got to see it again. If you don’t want to watch it, I guess I’ll understand,” she says with a mopey voice.

  “We can watch it,” I say as I push the button to order the old as hell movie. “There’s this new one out with a lot of car races and cool shit like that. But we can watch what you want to.”

  I grab us a couple of bottles of beer and a bag of popcorn and go sit in the chair next to hers. She leans her shoulder against mine as she takes the bottle I’m handing her. “You know, it’s only four in the afternoon. We can watch the one you want to next if you want. It’d mean I’d have to hang out with you longer than expected but I will if you want.”

  “We could heat up some leftovers in between the movies,” I say, feeling kind of excited for some stupid reason. “That sounds cool.”

  She grabs a handful of popcorn out of the bag that’s resting between my legs and my cock stirs as the bag moves against it. I’ll be leaving that right where it is!

  Taking the remote, I start the movie on the big screen and dim the lights. I’m happy to find her resting her head on my shoulder. “Thank you, Cyprian. You’re a nice guy.”

  I’m so not a nice guy!

  Her hand moves over my leg and she leaves it there. She seems more than comfortable with me and I am beginning to feel very comfortable with her as well. It’s so strange.

  “Don’t do that!” she shouts, suddenly.

  “What did I do?” I ask, as I have no clue.

  “Not you, silly. Indy,” she says with a giggle.

  Going back to watching the movie, I feel her jump when a painted face of some tribesman pops up on the screen. She buries her face in my chest. “Tell me when this part is over.”

  Chuckling, I run my hand through her hair. “It’s okay, Cami. I won’t let the scary man hurt you. He’s gone now.”

  She peeks at the screen and I run my arm around her, she rests her head on my chest and I can’t recall a time I’ve ever felt this satisfied. It’s crazy!

  More tribal action comes on and she climbs over the armrest that’s between us and climbs right onto my lap as she hides her face in my chest again. “God, I don’t remember it being this damn scary. Tell me when it’s over, please.”

  “I don’t think it’s scary at all. You’re kind of a big chicken.” I laugh at her and she smacks me in the chest. “Ow.”

  “I’m not a chicken. Is it over yet? I hear Indiana talking again.”

  “It is but you can stay where you are,” I say as she looks up at me. “I like you cuddled up on my lap.”

  Gazing into her sapphire eyes, I find myself inching toward her. And she’s not moving away from me, for once. Closer, I go and find my heart pounding.

  “Cyprian?” she asks.

  “Yes.”

  “You understand the kind of person I am, right?”

  I nod. “You’re a good person.”

  “I mean the kind of person I am about sexual relations,” she says. “I can’t be with you like that without knowing you better and having a commitment.”

  Commitment!

  That stopped me. “Cami, I’m not a commitment kind of man. I told you that before. Just because we’ve shared a little time doesn’t mean I want more.”

  She scrambles off my lap and into the other chair. “I’m not some easy tramp. Sorry you wasted your time.
I’ll go. I’m sure you can call one of those whores you know.”

  Before I know it, she’s slipped her shoes on and is hightailing it out of here. “Cami, wait!”

  She’s hauling ass and the bright light as she throws the door open blinds me. “Just leave me alone, Cyprian. I can’t believe I entertained the thought you could be a decent human being.”

  I manage to catch up to her as she gets to the front door. As she opens it, I grab it and push it closed, trapping her between me and the door. “What do you mean by that?”

  “You’re shallow. A hollow man. You have no depth. You have no heart. You will die alone. And I won’t be one of your casualties.” Her eyes have gone hard. Judgment fills her expression.

  “Who are you to say those things. You don’t even know me,” I shout at her.

  “And who does?” she asks as she moves her hands to her hips. “Do you even know who Cyprian is?”

  “Of course, I do.”

  “Explain him to me,” she says as her expression changes. She looks softer and more open.

  “Why should I?” I ask her as I run my hand over her smooth cheek. “Your skin is as soft as rose petals. Did you like the flowers I sent you? You never said a word about them.”

  “I think they’re beautiful. The crystal vase is something I’ll keep forever. Thank you.” She moves her face and her lips touch the palm of my hand.

  A heat streaks through me and I feel the pulse begin in my cock. “Cami, please don’t leave.” I bite my lip as I wait for her to tell me what she’s going to do.

  “Cyprian, I’m afraid of you.”

  “You think I’ll hurt you?” I ask, as I have no clue why she’d be afraid of me.

  “I know you will.” She caresses my cheek. “You see, I am in touch with myself and I know I cannot have a taste of you. I will want more and more and you won’t give that to me.”