by Michele Hauf
My back was plastered against the wall near the arched entry of the living room. As our kisses grew increasingly urgent, Blake’s hands began to move restlessly over my body. He stroked my back, lingering on my tangled wet hair. His strong fingers squeezed my hips, bringing them closer to his, making me feel his erection through our thin, damp clothes. Feeling the hungry need that raged inside him, my own desire for him burst out of control. I thought I would die if I didn’t have him inside me, and somehow I knew he felt the same. His hands cupped my bottom and lifted me to him, but we couldn’t get close enough. It was time for our bodies to catch up with our mouths, which were making passionate love, our tongues playing maddening carnal games.
Wordlessly I dragged him up the stairs to my bedroom, stopping frequently for wild kisses and bold caresses. I blindly fumbled for the light switch in the hallway and flipped it, then opened the door to the bedroom and pulled Blake inside. The room was dark, but the spray of light coming from the corridor was perfect, allowing us to watch each other.
We undressed one another with the same anticipation one unwraps a cherished gift. Although I was a bit timid at first, the indescribable depth of my yearning for him gave me confidence. I unbuttoned his shirt and slipped it off his shoulders, stopping for a few seconds to admire his naked torso. God, he was perfect—smooth, taut skin, well-defined muscles, all coated with a fine layer of hair. His nipples were so mouthwatering I couldn’t help lowering my face to flick my tongue greedily over one.
A gruff sound vibrated in his chest and he pulled my dress down, a bit rougher than I’d expected. Left in my bra, panties and high heels, I stepped back and lay down on the bed. I couldn’t see his eyes clearly in the semi-darkness, but his arousal was tangible. He unbuttoned his slacks and discarded them, remaining only in a pair of black boxers. I swallowed with difficulty as I watched him approach the bed. He took my feet in his hands and removed my shoes, one by one. When he spotted the tattoo on my ankle, he brushed his fingers over it, a smile curving his lips.
“Sexy.” Then his gaze travelled slowly up the length of my body and he said huskily, “God, you’re so beautiful, Kendra. A man could sell his soul for you.”
As he stretched out above me I eagerly lifted my knees to better nestle his erection against my sex. He kissed me again, sending his tongue deep inside my mouth, trapping the ecstatic moan in my chest. I lifted my hips, rubbing myself intently against him.
“I want you so much,” I whispered against his lips, then I slipped my hands over his hard, round ass, and discarded his boxers.
Only when his hardened penis pressed my center through the sheer white lace of my panties did I realize how wet I was. I’d never desired anyone this much in my life. I was ready to beg him to take me right now, but he had other plans. His mouth cruised over my neck, making me gasp with unbearable pleasure. My nipples were tight under my bra, aching to be kissed. Blake sensed it and he removed the white lace, then stroked my breasts skillfully, first with his hands, then with his mouth. My irregular breaths must have sounded loud in the intimate silence, but I wasn’t aware of them anymore. As Blake’s tongue and lips moved lower and lower over my body, my ears were roaring, my skin burning.
I didn’t realize he’d taken off my panties until his mouth covered my sex. When it did, I almost cried out, clenching my hands in the silk sheets. I was so excited it took only a few flicks of his tongue to make me come, lost in the most powerful climax I had ever experienced. The aftershocks of that orgasm lasted for a long, long time, leaving me dizzy and breathless.
My body, so tense minutes ago, relaxed completely. There were so many things I wanted to say, so many things I wanted to do, but I was unable to move or speak, or even open my eyes. However, when Blake positioned himself on top of me again, I did open them. My lips parted, but I completely forgot what I wanted to say. In one smooth motion he thrust inside me, full and powerful, making me cry out again, not in pain, but in pleasure. I was jolted by the renewed wave of lust he awakened deep inside me, a desire beyond anything I’d ever known. I thought it was impossible to want him again so soon after an incredible release, but his masterful lovemaking made me tighten again and yield under the calling of his body. He pushed himself into me, high and hard, in sinuous motions that stroked me both inside and out. I dug my fingers in the muscles of his back, sleek with sweat, surrendering my mouth to his, again and again. Our hips rocked together in an increasingly fast tempo, moving together as one. As our gazes remained trapped in each other, I felt I was spinning and falling into those haunting, burning gray eyes.
“Oh, God!” I gasped, when the all-consuming pleasure seemed to turn me inside out. A moment before I climaxed again, I felt Blake come as well, with one last deep thrust and a low sound that stirred the side of my neck.
We stayed wrapped together for a long time, with him still buried inside me, our bodies shuddering together, our breaths melding. I wondered if he sensed the same emotional intimacy I felt connected us. He convinced me of that when he turned his face to lay a gentle kiss on my shoulder, then rested his head tenderly on my breast. It was a heart-melting gesture, which made me hold him tighter, cradling him to my chest and entwining my fingers through his hair.
I didn’t know what to say, but somehow words seemed unnecessary. All the remarks going through my head—such as Wow!, Holy crap! or Thank you, you amazing god of sex!—seemed either lame or stupid. I decided to remain quiet.
Only now I realized the storm was still going on strongly outside. Thunder rattled the trio of floor-to-ceiling windows from time to time, and raindrops cascaded down the transparent glass.
“I dreamed about this, you know,” Blake said, lifting his head and reaching out to stroke my cheek.
I looked at him surprised. “You did?”
He nodded, smiling sheepishly. “That first day, when I came to your house and found you straddling that ladder...”
“I told you I wasn’t straddling it.”
“With this sexy ass rocking back and forth while you were scraping off the walls.” He flipped me over quickly, so I was sprawled on top of him. Lazily, he moved his hands down to cup the part of my anatomy he was just describing. “I couldn’t stop staring, imagining I would bend you over that ladder, and...”
“And what?” I asked breathlessly, my senses stirred once more with arousal at the mental image he was evoking.
“Why don’t I show you? No words are more graphic than reality, right?”
He slid from under me and began kissing my neck, my shoulders, my back, until I was vibrating with need once more under his strong, hard body. By the time he had me on my knees, holding on to the leather headboard, I was losing my mind in my own cries of pleasure.
I was dreaming of butterflies again. Their delicate wings fluttered over my skin, making me smile in ticklish delight. It seemed a more insistent butterfly had settled on my right shoulder, stroking me until I opened my eyes and reached out to stroke it back. Blake’s lips brushed over my fingers, and he continued kissing me randomly until I was half awake. As I lay on my belly on the bed, I felt gloriously sore and more replete than I ever had. Dawn was breaking outside, but I didn’t want to wake up from this fabulous dream.
“I have to go,” Blake whispered against my ear.
“What time is it?” I mumbled.
“It’s five a.m. I have to catch the plane to New York at eleven.”
He sat up and began dressing. I rolled over, rubbing my eyes in a vain attempt to wake up. When I started to rise, Blake urged me to lie down again.
“Don’t get up. I’ll see myself out. Get some more sleep, it’s early.”
I knew it wasn’t exactly the polite thing to do, but I was really exhausted. It had been a fantastic night, and now that it had ended, my body demanded rest.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to make you some coffee or something?” I offered sleepily.
He shook his head, pulling his shirt on and buttoning it quickly.
&n
bsp; “No, I just want you to go back to sleep.” He bent and kissed my lips gently. His eyes hadn’t lost any of the night’s magic. “I’ll see you next week.”
“Okay. Take care.”
“You too.”
With a last kiss on my temple, he rushed out.
I don’t remember when I slipped back into sleep, but at one point I was no longer able to ignore the strong light, no matter how hard I tried to hide my head among the pillows. I woke up with a groan, prying my eyes open. The sun was high in the sky, spreading rays of dazzling light everywhere.
“God, I need shutters!” I whined, rolling around in the huge bed, in the vain hope I could find a shaded corner and hide. Perhaps I could have, but my phone started ringing with Mom’s ringtone. I sat up and gazed around the room, trying to locate it. Finally, I crawled on the floor and found it in my little evening bag, which lay discarded near the door.
“Hello,” I croaked, brushing the hair off my face. “Hi, Mom.”
“Good morning. Don’t tell me you were still asleep,” said Mom. I detected a strange tone of reproach in her voice, which brought me fully awake.
“Yeah, I was... I just woke up a minute ago.”
“No wonder, with the night you must’ve had.”
My ears pricked. How could my mom know what I had been doing last night?
“What are you talking about?” I asked cautiously, lowering myself on the bed again.
There was a pause that worried me, then Mom said, “I guess you haven’t read the newspapers yet. Pictures of you and that actor, Blake Tyler, are all over the tabloids.”
“What?”
I was so shocked I didn’t know how to react. Stupidly, I scrambled out of bed, naked, spinning around in search of a newspaper, as though one would magically appear in front of me.
“What are you talking about, Mom? What tabloids?”
“Well, the only one I saw was Flash, but I’m sure there have to be more. You’re lucky they didn’t know your name, Kendra,” she admonished me, sounding truly upset. “What are you doing? A movie star, for Heaven’s sakes! Haven’t you had enough of heartbreak with Richard? Now you’ve got yourself mixed up with an actor?”
I held my head in one hand, literally feeling a migraine sneak up and clutch my temples.
“Mom, wait. I haven’t gotten myself mixed up with Blake. We... had a date. And, FYI, he’s a perfect gentleman, who doesn’t sleep around with just any woman.”
“That’s what the article says, but I’m not buying it. You should be more responsible, Kendra. I can’t believe you’ve changed so much since you moved to Los Angeles. Next thing I’ll read in the tabloids is that you’re doing drugs and going to wild parties.”
I was shocked by the unfairness of her accusations. A sharp pain in my heart made me pause before I said something I would regret. After a couple of deep breaths, I spoke carefully but coolly.
“How can you say such a thing to me, mother? You sound like you don’t know me at all. Why are you judging me like this? Because I chose to go out on a date with a man...”
“An actor.”
“A man,” I emphasized, raising my voice. “Blake is an amazing man, whom I like and respect, and who likes and respects me, more than any other guy I’ve ever met. Yes, he’s an actor, but it’s not his fault that he has no privacy and that paparazzi hunt him day and night for a scrap of gossip. When they don’t have anything, they invent it. Is that Blake’s fault? Should I give up on this relationship because of that, now when I feel more alive than ever? Should I give up this man who makes me happier than I’ve ever been, because we’ve appeared in some second-rate newspaper?”
A long silence followed. When she finally spoke, my mother’s voice was soft and full of regret.
“I’m sorry, sweetie. I... It’s unacceptable, the way I acted and exaggerated. I do know better, and most of all, I don’t have the right to judge you. It wasn’t my place to assume this was a fling, or just your way of getting back at Richard.”
“I don’t care about Richard anymore.”
“I can see that now. And I can tell you care a lot about this man, Blake.”
I didn’t reply. I didn’t know what to say, or maybe I just wasn’t yet ready to admit what I felt for Blake.
My mother went on, “I only want the best for you, Kendra. It’s your life, and though you don’t need our approval, I want you to know your father and I support you in anything. We only want to see you happy. If we’re over-protective sometimes, it’s because we don’t want you to get hurt.”
I smiled reluctantly. “I know, Mom. And I can promise you Blake won’t hurt me. I don’t know where this is going, but right now I just want to enjoy his company, get to know him better, and we’ll go from there. We both agreed to take things slowly.”
“Good. He’s a gorgeous-looking young man, isn’t he?” she added shyly, making me grin again.
“Yeah... He is that.”
After another pause, Mom said, “Well, I’ll let you get back to what you were doing. Oh, dear, I just realized... He’s not with you, is he? I mean, he hasn’t heard this conversation?”
I laughed. “No, he’s gone to New York. They start shooting the movie, and I’ll join them next week, after my furniture arrives.”
“Oh. Well, I’m sorry again for jumping to silly conclusions,” she said awkwardly. “We’ll talk later, okay?”
“Okay.”
“I love you, sweetie.”
“I love you too, Mom.”
I put the phone down with a sigh. For a few moments, I just sat staring into space, trying to get my bearings. When I looked down at myself, I saw I was still naked. I dragged myself up and to the bathroom to get a robe. As I started to wrap it around me, I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the large mirror adorning the bathroom door and spotted a hicky on my right buttock. The blood rushed to my cheeks as fast as the memories of last night invaded my mind. No need to pinch myself to be convinced it had all been real. God, Blake was the most incredible lover! I never dreamed one could experience such sensations, so different, so many, so intense...
Back to the bedroom, I plunked down on the bed, burying my face into the sheets to inhale the scent of him, of us. It had been the most divine night in my life. And what I’d told Mom was right: for the first time I felt truly alive, so happy I thought my heart would burst. I had no idea where this was going, but now I was happy. It was all that mattered.
However, there was a little cloud in my Heaven. With a deep breath I sat, switched on my laptop and prepared to face the music. I typed ‘Blake Tyler news’ into Google, and clicked on Images. There we were: Blake and I at the restaurant, me in my white dress, him in his dark, elegant attire. There were several photos of us, laughing, drinking, talking with our heads close together, dancing and kissing. Several headlines screamed in big, thick letters:
A GAP IN BLAKE TYLER’S LEGENDARY DISCRETION! WHO IS THE MYSTERIOUS GIRL WITH THE BUTTERFLY TATTOO?
16
As in most tabloid articles, there were many photos and only a few sentences here and there, mostly speculations of journalists desperate to attract attention. There was a mention of the time and place where Blake was seen accompanied by ‘a mysterious woman with a butterfly tattoo on her right ankle’. The journalists were wondering whether I was ‘a fresh face in Hollywood’, ‘Blake Tyler’s most recent acquisition’, or even ‘his fiancée’, since he was always very careful with whom he went out in public. One writer wondered if I was his wife, since he was perfectly capable of marrying in secret, to protect the privacy of his family.
“Oh, God!” I groaned, grabbing my face in both hands.
I had no idea what to feel about this. I was more worried about how Blake would react. Would he be offended, upset, furious? How would he feel about the more serious speculations? I wanted to call him, but I remembered he was on a plane to New York, probably getting some much needed sleep. Hopefully he hadn’t seen the tabloids yet, but he would find out
soon enough. Maybe it was cowardly, but I preferred he didn’t learn about this from me.
In the meantime, I had to get busy. I couldn’t just sit around for a week, as I waited for my furniture to arrive, so I could join the team in New York. It was the perfect time to start working on a new project. Not only did I want to work, but I was going to need money soon. Besides, writing would take my mind off this thing. And, to be perfectly honest, I already missed Blake, so I had to distract myself from fantasizing about him all day long. I didn’t want to get too attached to him. I wasn’t going to allow myself to fall in love, not unless I was sure it would last forever.
I was so distracted I nearly swallowed my earrings instead of my vitamins. I made a cup of coffee, but I was too jittery to drink it all. Since I couldn’t spend the day pacing the house, I pulled on a pair of jeans, a T-shirt and sneakers, and went out into the garden.
The storm last night had been a blessing for my plants. It had been a heavy rain, but one with little wind, so it hadn’t broken or damaged the flowers. Their colors were more vibrant and vivid than usual. The air was fresh, smelling of damp nature. Puddles had formed here and there on the ground, but the sun would soon dry them up. It was already getting hot.
I was walking along the edge of the lawn, when I spotted a tiny snail crawling determinedly toward the house. Smiling, I lowered myself to the ground and took him gently between two fingers. He was just a baby, slightly larger than my thumb nail. When I lifted him, he quickly withdrew into his shell, but after a few seconds, the long, fragile eyes peeked out cautiously.
“Aren’t you a flirt?” I said, laughing lightly, as I walked a few steps into the grass, careful not to step on any of his relatives. “Stay here where it’s safe, little guy.”
I put him down gingerly onto the moist grass, watching for a few minutes as he adjusted to his new surroundings and started moving away in the ocean of green. When I got to my feet, the knees of my worn jeans were damp. I brushed the dirt off them and continued my walk around the property, to check if all was well. Other than streaky windows, there was no damage. A few wisteria blossoms had fallen down in front of the house. I picked them up, marveling at the beauty of their deep purple color. I didn’t want to throw them away, so I went into the kitchen, put a little water in a plastic bowl and placed the blooms in it.