This woman had caught my heart and my lust in a way that I couldn’t even explain. I felt like I didn’t just want her close to me; I needed her close to me. I needed to feel her skin against mine and her breath on my neck. Part of me wanted to fight the feelings, but as I pulled back and looked into her eyes, I knew there was no way I could ever go anywhere without her.
Chapter Seventeen
Eliza
Talk about not wanting to face the music that I was back at work and it was Monday! I had such an amazing time in Maine, and I could barely get my mind off it. It was like leaving the city and going into a completely different life, where I had a hot-as-hell boyfriend, an amazing house, it was the perfect weather, and I got to cook all weekend. Not to mention the fact that Anthony was obsessed with showing me a good time and satisfying me in every way possible. And by every way possible, I mean every way possible. I’m pretty sure I had never had that many orgasms in a three-day period before.
Saturday, we woke up, had amazing sex in the shower, walked the property, and then got in the car. He took me to an apple orchard, where we picked two bags of apples. On the way back, I made him stop at the grocery store, and we got the ingredients to make apple pies. He was a terrible cook, but attempting to cook with me was a blast. We had dinner that night and then spent the evening in front of the fireplace drinking wine, talking, and making love until we fell asleep. Sunday was pretty much just lounging around, not wanting to leave, and eating at least an apple pie each. We ended up leaving the rest of them for the housekeeping staff.
When we got back to the city, we took our time getting out of the plane and jumping in the car. We watched the lights pass us by, happy that we were home but not wanting to leave the comfort of each other. Unfortunately, since we both had to work the next day, we decided it was best to stay at our own places. When we pulled up in front of my apartment, he carried my bags up and gave me a long, passionate kiss goodbye. It was so sensual but sweet. He then kissed the tip of my nose and headed back out to the car, leaving me in a puddle on the floor.
I’d been trying to accept his apology but at the same time keep a safe enough distance from him that if he freaked out again, I wouldn’t be left all alone in a sea of my own tears. I didn’t want to get hurt, but the more and more I spent time with him, the greater that chance was that I would. It was already to the point that, after that weekend getaway, I couldn’t hold it back any longer. I had to admit to myself at least that I had some seriously strong feelings for Anthony.
I had several classes during the day, so I took a deep breath and just let the ecstasy of the whole thing wash through me. I hadn’t had a smile that big on my face for a very long time, and I taught every single one of my morning classes from cloud nine. I seriously felt like my body was separate from my mind and not in a cool spiritual guru way, but a “I’m smitten and can’t stop thinking about this man, overload of endorphins” kind of way. My clients didn’t seem to mind one bit, especially since my sense of calm was on point.
When my classes were done, I grabbed a bottle of water and collected the towels, wanting to stay ahead of the game so I didn’t have to be at the studio late that night. I relieved the front-desk girl for her lunch break and sat down, checking the company email and the social media pages, as well. I reached into my bag and pulled out my phone, expecting to have texts from Anthony, but when I looked at my screen, there was nothing. He hadn’t responded back to anything I had sent him. My stomach felt like it was sinking.
The last time something like this happened, I was left sitting in my apartment, crushed and stood up. I was worried that he had changed his mind again, that the intensity of the weekend had been too much and as soon as the spell wore off he went running for the hills. I hated that I had to be worried about something like that, that my boyfriend, or whatever he was, had some seriously deep-seated issues because of his dead wife that made it so I never really felt secure in our connection.
The weekend had been amazing, and we had connected on levels that I had never experienced with another man before. Not only did we have this magnetic, uninhibited connection during sex, but we also latched together intellectually and emotionally. Not many men were capable of doing something like that, especially when they had spent so many years building up walls around themselves so that they didn’t have to feel those things. There was a societal view that men aren’t men if they fall in that category, but in my eyes, he is ten times the man because he is able to access way more parts of himself than just his masculinity.
With everything that happened over the weekend, and everything that we had gone through, I didn’t know what I had to do to keep him from running away. The thought of going through this again made me sick to my stomach. I fell from cloud nine so fast I couldn’t even see straight. This wasn’t fair, not in any way, but there was really nothing I could do except wait and see what happened. I canceled the rest of my day, and when the desk girl got back, I left. I just wanted to be home to deal with this.
Not in any hurry whatsoever to get home and engross myself in chick flicks and rom-coms, I strolled down the street, looking at the different art pieces on display. Most of the street artists recognized me since I took the same route to and from home on a daily basis. Several of them knew that I was a clothing designer on the side, and they always made me feel like I was part of the community. I knew that everyone in the Art District wanted to get to Manhattan, and everyone in Manhattan wanted to stay there, but I couldn’t imagine being happy living anywhere else in the city, except maybe somewhere with a lower crime rate.
When I walked into the apartment, I hung my bag on the door and pulled out my phone, opening up to see the missed message. It was from Anthony but only from a few minutes before. There were three messages, and at first it just looked like he was saying hi and checking on me. However, the next message was a bit more disguised, telling me he needed to talk to me about something. The third one spelled it all out for me.
Anthony: Eliza, I promised you that I wouldn’t freak out, but I am having a really hard time not doing so. I promised I would tell you next time something like this happened.
I took in a deep breath and walked over to the couch, feeling a fluttering in my chest. I was right—he was freaking out about us, and after everything we had just been through over the weekend, or because all of the things we had just been through over the weekend. I didn’t even know what to say back to him. How was I supposed to calm these fears when they were completely legitimate? I didn’t want to accidently offend the memory of his deceased wife, but at the same time, it had been a long time since she passed. I understood that he would always love her, and that moving on was going to be difficult, but it was new on my end too.
I glanced over at my jacket and sat there for a minute thinking about it hard. I wanted to make the right move. I shook my head and jumped up from the couch and grabbed my coat. I stuck my phone in my pocket, grabbed my keys, and walked out the front door. When I got to the street, I hailed a cab.
“Where to?”
I sat there for a moment, thinking about if this was the right thing to do. I looked out the window at several couples walking along the street, holding hands and enjoying their time together. Instantly my mind flashed back to me and him dancing in the kitchen with flour all over me.
“Ma’am?”
“Yes, sorry,” I said. “Take me to Creative Nature Marketing in Manhattan, please. And hurry.”
This was the only thing I knew to do—go to his office and stand in front of him. When we were together, we had a connection that was stronger than anything I had felt before. It was like we were connected, like partners, and I was pretty sure—well, at least I hoped—that when I was there with him it would remind him why he shouldn’t be panicked. I really cared about this man, in a way I couldn’t even explain. I was determined to snap him out of this.
When I arrived at the offices, I took a deep breath and looked up the side of the building to his fl
oor. I wasn’t positive this was going to work, but it was the only thing I knew how to do. I paid the cab driver and walked inside, taking the elevator to his floor. I knew the secretary was going to stop me, so I crept around the corner and scooted past her, trying to find the door to his office. As I made it halfway down the hall, I spotted it and didn’t even think. I just walked straight in with my chin high.
When the door opened, Anthony looked up from his desk, his eyes tired and worried. As soon as he saw my face, that smile that I loved so much shot across it. He was genuinely surprised to see me show up at his work. I closed the door behind me and walked forward, slightly nervous.
“Eliza,” he said. “What are you doing here?”
“I got your texts,” I said, waving my phone in the air.
“I know,” he said, looking down. “It’s a hard day.”
“Look,” I said, stepping forward. “I can’t even begin to imagine what you have been going through, having lost your wife so many years ago, but I do know who you are today. You are a fighter, a moral man with huge aspirations. I will never tell you that you have to forget Amy, never. I will never tell you to not tell me stories about her, but in order for you to move forward, you have to let go. Not of her memory or your love for her, but you need to let go of the fear of having someone else in your life, because you are going to miss out on something really beautiful.”
I stood there nervously, waiting for a response. He stood up from his desk and walked around it and stopped in front of me. He gave me a warm smile and looked down at his feet.
“You’re right,” he said, looking back up at me. “I have to let go of that because you are so important to me, and I don’t want to lose you too. I can’t promise that I won’t have fears, but I can promise I will never let them get in the way of being with you.”
He walked forward and pressed his lips against mine, and I whined slightly, letting go of my nerves and leaning into him. He had the perfect response.
Chapter Eighteen
Anthony
The fears that morning had flooded me without warning or provocation. One minute I was thinking about the amazing weekend I’d had with Eliza, and the next I was replaying all the feelings I had when Amy died. There was no rhyme or reason to any of it, and it was driving me absolutely crazy. One thing I did do right, though, was send Eliza that text. It was hard to do it, especially since everything in me was telling my brain to run in the other direction, but I did it. When she didn’t text back I panicked, trying to figure out what to do next. However, just as the panic was reaching a fevered pitch, she walked into my office and stood there, dripping wet from the rain that just started twenty minutes before.
When she walked in, I wanted to drop to my knees and ask her to forgive me. Just having her there close to me made me instantly forget those fears, but she was determined, and I wasn’t going to take that from her. She was so adorable standing there with her hands on her hips, water dripping down her face and a serious look in her eye. Her speech was raw but intelligent and sensitive, and immediately I knew that I was falling even more for this girl. She had come down to my office just to make me feel better. She had given up her day to make sure that we stayed intact because of my issues, issues that she in no way caused. It really showed me how much she actually cared for me. It showed me that there was a woman out there who wanted to be there for me, be with me, no matter how screwed up I was in my head. There hadn’t been anyone like that since Amy.
There was a moment during that passionate kiss that I thought about sweeping her into my arms and making love to her right there. However, knowing that I was in the middle of a Monday workday, that might not be so romantic. I picked up the phone and called my secretary.
“I need you to cancel all my appointments for the day,” I said, looking over at Eliza. “Something has come up.”
I hung up the phone and reached over, grabbing my coat and pulling it around her shoulders. By that point her teeth were chattering and she was freezing cold. She watched as I gathered my things and switched my computer off.
“Where are we going?”
“Back to my house,” I said, leaning in and kissing her softly.
We left the office, and I grabbed an umbrella from the front, holding it over our heads as we raced across the street to my apartment complex. We took the elevator up in silence, and when we entered she walked into the kitchen and dried her face off. I stood there watching her, my heart pounding in my chest. She turned around and looked at me, a smile moving across her lips.
She grabbed my hand and led me down the hall and into my bedroom, shutting the door quietly behind us. I walked in and turned toward her just as she walked forward, rubbing my shoulders with her hands. Immediately the passion from the weekend in Maine came back to us, and she was unbuttoning my shirt and kissing my mouth hard. She pushed my shirt over my shoulders and off my body and undid my pants, letting them fall to the floor. I reached down and grabbed the edges of her shirt and pulled it up and over her head. Her tits bounced around wildly, and I looked down as she pulled her soaking pants off and kicked them to the side. I sunk my hand down the front of her panties and watched her head roll back as my fingers pushed through her wetness. I gently held her waist and moved her toward the bed kissing her passionately.
She lay down in front of me and scooted back until her head was on the pillow. I pulled her panties from her body and spread her legs open, rubbing my palms over her breasts and down between her legs. Her clit was hard and she was ready, but I wanted to remember what she tasted like first. I crawled toward her, putting my head between her thighs and smiling up at her. Slowly I parted her pussy lips and ran my tongue through her wetness and around her nub. She breathed deeply as I swirled my mouth through her juices. I drove two fingers into her pussy, feeling how incredibly tight she was. My cock pulsed, still trapped in my pants as I fingered her passionately, my mouth moving wildly over her. She reached out and grabbed the sheets on the bed, grasping them in her hands and moaning.
I looked up at her eyes as I pushed her further into ecstasy, lifting her thighs in the air and running my tongue through her juices. She arched her back and moaned, reaching down to her breasts and squeezing, pulling at her nipples. She writhed and wiggled beneath my face as her hips began to grind in rhythm with my tongue. I could feel her body getting stiffer as she came closer to her first climax. Her body moved faster, and she reached down, threading her fingers through my hair and pushing down. She moaned loudly as she lifted her body from the bed and fucked my face, the erotic nature pushing me too close to just plowing into her. As the motions became uncontrolled and wild, she screamed out, arching high in the air and throwing her head back. Her body convulsed passionately beneath me as her juices flowed from her pussy. She whined and moaned as she let the air leave her chest, and her hips relaxed back into the bed.
“Wow,” she giggled, reaching for my face and pulling it up to hers.
I kissed her lips softly as I reached one hand over to the nightstand next to my bed. I pulled out a new box of condoms and pulled one out, holding it between my lips. I opened up the packaging and rolled it over my shaft, disappointed that I had to wear one but thankful that I had remembered. I moved my body between her legs and reached down, grabbing the base of my cock and stroking the shaft. She lifted her ass in the air and pulled her legs around my waist, closing her eyes and feeling the whole of my cock slide into her. I moved strong and deep, and she moaned loudly at the feeling of my cock sliding through her wetness.
It felt so good to be inside of her, and I hadn’t realized how much I wanted it until that moment. She reached her hands up and pulled me down close to her, forcing our bodies to rub up and down one another’s. Eliza was this amazing and sexual woman, and her body was like a temple to me. We mashed together and moved in motion, our breaths matching and our eyes locked onto each other’s.
I spread her legs farther apart and looked deep into her eyes as I thrust my cock deep an
d hard inside of her. She smiled and moaned, stretching her body out, leaving her large breasts to bounce up and down on her chest. I leaned down and ran my lips across her chest as I pushed in and out of her, feeling my balls slap against her. She reached up and grabbed the bed behind her, pulling on the mattress and arching her body into mine. I slowed down a bit and sat up, pulling her legs onto my shoulders and grasping her ass. I pulled her toward me and pushed deep inside. Then, bracing myself I began pumping fast and hard. She screamed in pleasure beneath me, and I felt her wet mound tightening and releasing around my cock. She reached down and started rubbing her clit as I pushed into her with speed, feeling my own orgasm beginning to rise.
Her moans matched the rhythm of my body and the sounds echoed through the entire apartment. As I thrust deep and hard, I could feel her body begin to tense and I knew she was about to explode. She rubbed her fingers against her clit, biting down on her lower lip and clenching her eyes shut. I wanted to feel her orgasm again, her pussy vibrating against my shaft, the flowing juices rushing around it. As she reached her peak, she lifted her hips from the bed and tilted her head back, only a slight whine escaping her throat. I moaned loudly as I felt her pussy pulsate around my shaft, and bared down on her hips, ramming my cock in as deep as I could get it. After several more thrusts, I leaned into her, letting my body rest against hers as I came hard, the orgasm sending a mixture of electricity and relaxation through every muscle in my body. She moaned loudly as her body began to relax, my cock bulging inside of her. That had to have been one of the most erotic moments of my entire life.
The Art of Love Page 10