Holding You

by Jewel E. Ann

  “Too much was what I wanted to buy you, but strangely enough, my billionaire beauty has quite the frugal taste.” He sat down on the edge of the bed.

  I ran my finger down his chest chasing a drop of water. “Not with you. I have to stay grounded in every other part of my life because you, Mr. Cohen, are as elaborate as they come. In that department, I picked the top of the line. I undoubtedly splurged with you … you are my guilty pleasure.” I traced his tight abs at the edge of his towel dipping a finger under to tug it loose.

  He stopped me by grabbing my hand. “Sorry, baby, my fiancée has us on a strict schedule and we leave in less than an hour to a destination unbeknown to me.”

  I stuck my pouty bottom lip out. “She sounds like a real spoilsport.”

  “She’s actually quite the little ogling minx.” He leaned down and sucked my nipple into his mouth then bit it with a tug before releasing it. “Now get going, baby. I can’t wait to see where you’re taking us next.”

  I quickly showered and threw on a sundress and wedges then braided my hair into Quinn’s favorite pigtails. My suitcases were in need of some reorganization, but that would wait until our next stop. Anal retentive Quinn wanted to keep our stuff segregated when we packed for our trip. He said it would be easier, but I’m pretty sure the idea of mixing his pressed shirts and pants with my wash and wear wadded sundresses and capris sent his OCD into overdrive. When I moved to New York, I insisted his housekeeper-cook go part-time since I wasn’t working full-time. After a month of wrinkles, miss-matched socks, and thousands of dollars worth of shrunken clothes, I relinquished all of Quinn’s laundry to Helen, his housekeeper. I stayed in the kitchen, which was perfect for Quinn.

  I knew Zach and Eden were going to see the huge rock on my finger as soon as I walked into the kitchen, but I wanted to share the news with two other people first. So I grabbed my phone off the dresser and snapped a picture of my left hand held up by my face with a big grin. I texted it without subject, caption, or comment to Mac and Elena. Then I silenced my phone, knowing I would get an instant call from Mac and possibly Elena too. They would have to wait for details, but I felt better knowing they knew before the rest of the world.

  Zach and Eden piled their suitcases by the door as everyone waited for our driver to arrive. Quinn was checking his phone and eating some grapes. His face lit up when I walked in the room, as did mine. He grabbed a banana and peeled it back before handing it to me.

  “I’m starting to think I’m your pet monkey.”

  He hugged my waist and lifted me off the ground. I wrapped my legs around him and took a bite of my banana. “You kind of are.” He kissed my neck then stole a bite of my banana before setting me back on my feet.

  “Holy crap!” Eden yelled, and she grabbed my hand. “Quinn proposed?”

  I blushed and smiled with my eyes glued to his. “Sort of.”

  He gave me a sexy wink and grin. Eden embraced me while squealing and bouncing us both up and down.

  Zach shared a man-hug with Quinn. “Dude, that’s awesome. I take it she said yes?”

  Quinn laughed. “Sort of, I think.”

  “You two don’t make any sense. Sort of? I think? What’s that suppose to mean?” Eden prodded.

  Quinn looked at me but I didn’t say anything. “Addy and I have … a unique way of communicating.”

  “Words are overrated,” I added.

  “Niiice … body language … I totally get you two. That’s fucking hot.” Zach shared the same defective filter as Mac always used.

  Eden’s eyes doubled in size. “Ooohhh, I see, well congratulations anyway … sort of.”

  We all laughed just as the driver pulled up.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  “Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.”

  ~Ambrose Bierce

  OUR NEXT STOP via Air Cohen was Seville. Quinn, being the world traveler, knew where we were before either I or the pilot had a chance to announce it.

  “Seville, right?” Quinn asked with a confident smile.

  I nodded.

  “How long are we staying here?”

  “Just two days.”

  “Two days to do what?” He looked at Zach and Eden.

  Zach had a good poker face but Eden struggled. She didn’t look at Quinn. Instead, she focused on fidgety hands in her lap. She was failing miserably at hiding her nerves.

  Quinn stayed focused on her because she was the weak link at the moment. “Eden?”

  “Hmm?” she answered, still not making eye contact with him.

  “Are you nervous? I know you too well. You can’t hide your nerves.”

  She tried to steady her hands as she shook her head.

  “Are you pregnant?” Quinn caught her and everyone else off guard with that question.

  “What? No you idiot, I’m not pregnant. I’m scared shitless about jumping out of a plane!”

  “Eden!” Zach hollered.

  “Oh shit, I’m sorry, Addy, he just … he’s just so—” She was flustered.

  “He’s a nosy little bastard, I know.” I squeezed his leg then he laid his hand over mine and laced our fingers together. His finger absentmindedly traced the contours of my ring.

  “Seville, Spain, baby, one of the top ten best places in the world to skydive,” Quinn declared as he gave Zach a high five.

  “I know you two wild hares have already taken the fifteen thousand foot plunge here, but this time—”

  “We’ll have hot chicks attached to us,” Zach finished.

  “You’ll be tandem jumping with two beautiful novice divers,” I corrected Zach.

  “That’s what I said.” He feigned innocence as Eden gave him a stiff elbow to the ribs.

  Quinn’s knee that our hands rested on started to rapidly bounce. He didn’t do it very often, so I knew it wasn’t a nervous habit. I looked at him and then his knee.

  He stopped. “Sorry, the adrenaline is already taking over.”

  “We’re not jumping until tomorrow.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Who said it was about skydiving?” He shifted our hands just enough to let me feel his growing erection. I wasn’t as flattered as he intended. I knew extreme sports turned him on almost as much as sex.

  “Maybe we should just skip the jump and stay in bed all day tomorrow.” I flashed him a challenging smile.

  He knitted his brows. “We could, but that wouldn’t be fair to you and Eden, and since we’ve come all this way—”

  “Oh, just admit it, you’re like a kid on Christmas Eve. You won’t be able to get to sleep tonight.”

  “Not if you’re lucky, my naughty little fiancée.”

  *

  We were transported to the Gran Meliá Colón, a five-star luxury hotel in the historic old quarter of the city. After lunch we explored the city, including a tour on a double-decker bus. Quinn and Zach turned up their noses to the idea.

  “This isn’t how people with means tour the city,” Quinn protested.

  “I’m sure you’re right, so good thing were not a bunch of snobby, pretentious, rich people,” I returned.

  I took a slew of pictures just like every other tourist on the bus. I was in awe of the Islamic monuments and gardens. We stopped at the Tower of Gold, Bridge of San Telmo, and Casino Exhibition Hall. We made it back to our hotel in time for dinner, but we agreed to call it a night and order room service instead of going out. I was anxious for a little alone time with Quinn.

  As soon as we got to our room, I plopped down on the huge bed and glanced through the menu. Quinn sat beside me with his back against the headboard. He grabbed one of my feet and took off my sandal to massage my foot.

  “Ah, that feels so amazing,” I moaned in pleasure.

  His strong hands moved slowly over my arch, applying firm pressure with his thumbs to all the right spots. He could have sent me to the spa for a massage, which I always enjoyed, but I loved his hands massaging me more than anyone’s. It was such
a tender, nurturing, and loving gesture, not just quick foreplay before sex. However, it was just our nature that after enough physical contact we both craved more and weren’t satisfied until we had sweat beading down our bodies and our lungs begging for air.

  “Did you enjoy slumming on the layman’s tour?” I quipped. “I’m guessing that was your first time on a bus like that?”

  He smirked. “It was basically a party bus, and I’m not going to lie, I’ve been on a few, mostly during college. As for the tour itself, the best view in the city is sitting next to me. I watched you, not the tour. Other foot.” He clapped his hands and I lifted my other foot to his lap.

  “You’ve ruined me for every other guy, you know?”

  “I hope so.”

  “Caveman.”

  He fisted his hands and pounded his chest.

  I giggled. “You goof. So how about veggie enchiladas? I’ll call down and see if they can veganize something for me.”

  “Ask how long it will be too. We need a shower.”

  “Oh do we?”

  He pulled off his T-shirt then stood and removed his shorts, leaving him in nothing but his sexy, white, boxer briefs that contrasted with his tan skin in the most mouthwatering way. “Well at least I do.” He strutted off toward the bathroom.

  “Two can play this game, buddy,” I yelled in his direction.

  He didn’t answer but I heard the shower being turned on. I wasted no time ordering dinner and getting to the bathroom to play my hand at the strip tease he started. I grabbed my lavender shaving gel and razor out of my toiletries bag then untied my sundress letting it drop to the floor. Quinn was sudsed-up in the shower, but he wiped a small area of the glass door so he could see me. I was in a red lace demi bra with matching panties. I lifted my foot and rested it on the edge of the sink. The toilet seat would have been a more practical choice, but I was going for a more dramatic effect. Slowly, I massaged the gel over my leg, but not like I normally would, more like I was auditioning for a commercial. Out of the corner of my eye I could see he was watching me. I glided the razor up my leg, over and over, removing all the gel before switching to the other leg. When I was almost done I stole a quick glance at Quinn again. Holy Shit!

  He was staring at me and he was lustful and dark with one hand rested against the glass wall, but it was his other hand that caught my attention. It was fisted around his enormous erection-stroking it. My core immediately went into nuclear meltdown. I bit my bottom lip for a moment while I watched him stroke himself. I knew what I wanted to do, but I wasn’t sure I had it in me. My wild side won over as the sex goddess in me started to blossom. I reached behind and unclasped my bra letting it melt off my breasts. Then with the same steady ease, I followed with my panties, keeping my eyes on his as he picked up the pace at which he stroked himself. Cupping my breasts and taking my sweet time, I massaged them. Even over the noise of the water, I heard a deep moan escape him. I closed my eyes for a brief second then opened them again to his dark, heated stare. Inching my right hand down over my abdomen, I slid my finger over my clitoris. His eyes followed my hand. Then his hand against the glass wall fisted. He pulled open the door to the shower and grabbed my waist, jerking me inside. He positioned me so I was standing next to the shower seat before he lowered to his knees. He lifted my leg and set my foot on the seat. Then he buried his face between my legs.

  “OH! My god,” I cried.

  I wasn’t expecting him to attack my sex with such intensity. His lips and eager tongue ripped through my frayed nerves. There wasn’t a gradual work up; he quickly brought me to an intense orgasm as I screamed out his name. My knees buckled under me, and he held me in place with one hand under my leg while he stroked himself with the other. His lapping tongue between my legs matched the intensity and rhythm with which he gave himself. The same thought that usually crossed my mind during such intense moments with Quinn danced through my mind again. Would we ever get enough of each other?

  I was wrapped in a robe and Quinn was wearing a pair of shorts with his chest bared when our dinner arrived. We were beached on opposite ends of the couch with our legs tangled in the middle and our plates on our laps.

  I was thinking about the erotic scene that played out in the bathroom moments earlier, and of course that was when he asked the one question I didn’t want him to ask.

  “Whatcha thinking about, beautiful?”

  My body deceived me as my skin flushed with embarrassment. No answer was necessary, he knew.

  He smiled a sexy all knowing grin. “It was hot, baby. You’re such a naughty temptress. You had me so fucking hard.”

  He was so comfortable in his skin and with his sexuality. I had always tried to hide my inexperience, but there was no way for Quinn to hide just how much experience he had. It wasn’t a thought I relished, but it often crossed my mind. I wondered if he longed for more from me. I knew he had women falling at his feet willing to fulfill every sexual fantasy he’d ever imagined and probably some he hadn’t yet thought about.

  “It’s easy for you—” I stopped short to rethink how I wanted to approach the subject.

  “Getting turned on by you? Hell yes, it’s easy for me.” He casually took another bite as if we were discussing the weather.

  “No, I mean the sex or the things like what we just did. You’re so comfortable and confident about it.” I looked at my food like I was searching for treasure because I was too embarrassed to look at Quinn.

  “You mean masturbating? You can’t honestly tell me you’ve never masturbated before.” He laughed with hesitation.

  “No, I’m not … I mean yes of course I’ve done that before … I’ve just never done it in front of anyone else before you.”

  “Well, beautiful, you should know that I would never have guessed that. You’re sexy as hell when you touch yourself. I’m flattered and a little aroused at the thought of being your first audience.”

  I glanced up at him as he continued to eat without skipping a beat. Was the topic of sex considered normal conversation with Quinn and other women? I felt so out of my element.

  “Anything else?” he asked between bites.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, I’m the first person you’ve masturbated with. Am I your ‘first’ anything else?”

  “Jeez, is your ego hungry or what?” I rolled my eyes.

  “I’m serious, and I’m not asking to ‘feed my ego.’ By the time most people reach their thirties the lists of ‘firsts’ starts to dwindle. I promise if you tell me I’ll make sure your ego goes to bed more inflated than mine tonight.” He licked some sauce off his thumb while giving me the “so what do you say” look. “Deal?”

  I let out an exaggerated exhale. “Fine, but then we never speak of this again. Deal?”

  He turn key gestured at his lips.

  Sucking in a deep breath I let it all go at once. “You were my first … sex someplace other than in a bed, position other than missionary, oral sex, multiple orgasms, nipple stimulation orgasm, bondage, food with sex, and you’re the first person to rip an undergarment off of me.”

  The silence was deafening. Quinn looked certifiably shocked. I gave him a sheepish smile and shrugged my shoulders. “You wanted to know, so say something. Don’t simply look at me like I just told you I’m only sixteen or something.”

  He set his plate to the side. “Addy, how many guys have you been with?”

  Shit, shit, double shit!

  “Two,” I whispered.

  “What?” He sat up and leaned closer to me.

  “I said two.” My voice was still soft but no longer a whisper.

  “Two? Are you serious? You’ve only been with two other guys before me?”

  My face contorted in anguish. “Not exactly.”

  “What do you mean ‘not exactly?’”

  I nervously worked the corner of my bottom lip between my teeth. “Well, you’re, uh …”

  “I’m what?”

  “You’re number t
wo.” I covered my face with my hands to hide my utter and complete embarrassment.

  He dropped to his knees in front of me, laughing with equal parts humor and sympathy, as he pulled my hands away from my face. “Baby, don’t. Look at me. I’m not trying to judge you, I’m just amazed that you’re thirty-two years old with the body of a twenty year old and you’ve only been with one other guy. How is that possible?”

  I looked into his eyes and the moment felt right and safe, so I let another piece of myself go. “Number one died, and it took me a while—years—to give myself to someone again, physically or emotionally.” The weight on my shoulders lessened yet a little more.

  “Oh, Addy,” he whispered as he cradled my face in his hands. “I love you, and I want to be your only.”

  “You are.” I smiled and leaned into his lips.

  I needed his touch to ground me again. He didn’t ask me any other questions, and I loved him for trusting me to share my past in my own time. He had no idea what an emotional milestone I reached by sharing that with him and not shedding tears. I was healing. With Quinn, I was healing.

  “Alright, buddy, your turn … You promised to boost my ego so let’s hear it.”

  He looked at me for a moment but then wrapped his arms around me and whispered in my ear, “You’re the first person who has made me want—need—something money can’t buy. You’re the first person I’ve made love to, you’re the first person I’ve held in my arms until morning, and you’re the first person I knew I couldn’t live without … and I want you to be my only, my very last.”

  We tightened our embrace and kissed. It was long, passionate, tender, and loving. We did this for what seemed like an eternity. Most people think of sex or making love as the ultimate form of intimacy, but for me it was the kiss. It was my infinity of love. Relationships often started and ended with a kiss, but when Quinn kissed me I couldn’t remember when we started, and I never wanted it to end. Quinn was my infinity.

  *

  Another great morning wrapped in Quinn. I felt extra special that morning knowing I was the one privileged person who had experienced waking in his strong arms. Actually, it was his legs and half of his body too. Quinn hugged me like a body pillow. Sometimes the weight of his body was a little suffocating, but I breathed through it because once I made it past the crushing sensation, it was pure bliss.