by Alexis Leia
“Be a good boy and do as I say. Let’s get you into the shower”, she said and moved away from him, leading the way inside.
The house was even more stunning on the inside; a large foyer with mosaic tile floor in bronze, brown and orange was laid under their feet, the large staircase being the central view in front. The stairs were covered in a soft, beige carpet, and they led towards the upper floor with soft brown walls. On the ground floor, where they stood, the comfy living room was on the left, the kitchen on the right, and dining room right next to the kitchen. Selene walked around, not knowing where to start exploring first. A smile full of wonder danced on her lips as she walked in circles, her main concern finding a bathroom for Chris. But the house was so beautiful, she got a little carried away.
“Are you seeing this? It’s so amazing”, she said to him.
“I couldn’t agree more”, he said, but his eyes never left her.
“I meant the house”, she said and crossed her arms over her chest.
“I meant you”, he fired back huskily, making her blush and shake her head.
“C’mon, let’s find you a shower”, she said.
“There’s a hallway with two bedrooms and two bathrooms in the hall next to the living room.”
“You were already here?”
“No, but I memorized the layout of the house before renting it”, he said and walked slowly to the archway.
“Of course you did, you control freak”, she murmured, but she was obviously loud enough for him to hear, because he chuckled.
They entered a hallway with beige walls and soft yellow lighting, where multiple hardwood doors stood closed. He stopped in front of the bathroom, a passionate look in his eyes and a teasing smile on his lips.
“You sure you don’t want to join me?”
“Only if you’re incapable of getting inside the shower by yourself”, she said.
“Jesus, I was in a fight. I’m not immobile”, he said and rolled her eyes, making her grin.
“You totally picked up the eye rolling thing from me”, she said and turned around to walk away, but he smacked her on the ass again, making her stop and swirl around to seriously threaten him.
“One of these days I will smack you on the ass too. With a goddamn baseball bat”, she said, but he ignored her and went inside the bathroom with a booming laugh.
“I should put cyanide in his food”, she mumbled to herself, making her way toward the kitchen, which was supplied with every modern appliance you could think of.
It was painted in light yellow that gave a very warm and airy atmosphere, combined with French windows covering the entire wall. It even had its small porch!
The large counter was the center piece of the kitchen, with its white marble countertop and a fruit basket in the middle. Selene took a look inside the fridge, noticing it contained more food than the local supermarket. That man really thought of everything, she thought.
She didn’t know what he liked to eat, but she remembered he wasn’t too picky when it came to food, so she decided to prepare him an omelet with ham and a large piece of chicken breasts, along with green salad.
Cooking got her carried away, making her lost in her own thoughts. There was a random song on her mind that she subconsciously started singing out loud. She was so lost in the lyrics, she didn’t hear Chris come in. She squealed in surprise when he circled his arms around her waist, and almost hit him with a spoon.
“Don’t sneak around like that”, she gasped and put a hand on her chest to calm her racing heart.
“I didn’t know you could sing like that”, he said, sounding as surprised as she was.
She blushed, never comfortable with singing around others.
“I don’t sing well. This was just... something”, she said and moved out of his embrace to put the food on his plate.
“I’m the producer here and I say you sing very well. Your voice is very unique”, he said and sat on the chair at the counter.
She turned around and for a moment forgot what she wanted to say; he was dressed in a simple white t-shirt and washed out jeans. He was barefoot, his hair was still wet and ruffled from the shower, and his face was so damn beautiful, despite the black eye and a split lip. He didn’t shave, however, and that made him look even more attractive.
“Uh, yeah. Okay. Whatever”, she muttered and put his food in front of him.
He seemed to know what she was thinking about (hint: Chris, bed, happy ending) because he gave her a brilliant crooked smile full of knowledge.
“Stop doing that!” she complained and sat opposite of him.
“What?”
“Reading my mind and looking at me like you’re mentally taking my clothes off”, she said, already feeling very, very turned on.
“But I am”, he said, his seducing expression unchanged.
“Eat. And stop distracting me”, she said and bit her lip, watching his eyes darken.
“I’m hungry for something else.”
“Tsk, tsk. First the real meal and then the dessert”, she said, intentionally pushing him.
He took his plate and began eating so fast, it made her laugh.
“You’re not going to eat?” he asked, his fork in midair.
“No, I’m not hungry.”
He frowned and brought the fork to her lips.
“Eat”, he ordered with his relentless voice.
“I’m not hungry”, she repeated, but he used the chance to stuff the food inside her mouth.
“First the real meal, then the dessert”, he quoted her with a wicked grin.
They quarreled like that throughout the meal, and ended up splitting the food in half so she could have some too. There was more than enough for both of them, but she was concerned he was still hungry. He was a big man, and he needed his strength.
“Do you want me to make more?” she asked him, enjoying how he licked his fingers after cleaning the plate.
“Are you kidding? I’m stuffed. But it was great”, he said and took the plate to wash it in the sink.
“I’m glad you liked it. Leave it, I’ll do it”, she said, pushing him away with her hip.
“I can wash a plate, Selene. My hands are still working”, he said with a smile, clenching and unclenching his fists. Judging by the bruises on his knuckles, his hands weren’t completely intact. She raised her eyebrow and pointed at the bruises and cuts, and he grunted in response.
“Sit down. You think I never do dishes in L.A.?” he asked, and she jumped up to sit on the countertop, next to the sink, where she could look at him as they talked.
“Don’t you have a housekeeper?” she asked, again curious about his life.
“Yeah, but she comes twice a week. I don’t just pile the dishes and clothes, waiting for her to deal with it”, he laughed, surprising her. She knew he was capable of doing, well, everything by himself, but she couldn’t really imagine him doing the laundry or dusting his shelves.
“Tell me about L.A.”, she asked of him, enjoying the sound of his voice and the stories he had.
“Los Angeles is everything and nothing you see on TV. Yes, there’s the Hollywood sign, the beaches, the surfers, and the weather is never below 55 degrees. But what the TV doesn’t show you is the small diner on Mortimer Avenue that has the best burgers you could ever taste, or an amateur theatre on Nadeau Street, where they make the best comedy plays that can make you cry from laughter. It’s not all about the glamour and celebrities, there’s a certain charm to that city that goes beyond the superficial. But with time, I got bored of it”, he said, his voice becoming dreary at the end.
She tried to imagine him visiting all those places he told her about, but somehow her mind always drifted to the magazine covers, where he posed in expensive suits with supermodels on his arms. How could a man get bored of that?
“What did you get bored of?”
“Of living there without living at all. My business takes most of my time, simply because it’s not a nine-to-five job.
It’s a 24/7 obligation. Having a record label this big means not only signing new artists, but keeping your connections with the old ones. Throwing parties that I hate in my house, witnessing the backstage drug consumption, having to attend all kinds of social events, even when you had two hours of sleep that night... Shit, it just stopped being about the quality of music, it’s now only about the quantity and popularity”, his voice became more serious as he spoke, the water still running in the sink even after he finished washing the dishes.
He stared at the wall, with his hands leaned on the counter, looking at nothing in particular, but he looked so restless, she felt incredibly sorry for him.
It seemed as if he had lost himself in the process of finding himself, as paradoxical as it sounded.
“That place hasn’t been my home for a while now”, he whispered and laughed bitterly.
She jumped down the countertop and gently put her hand on his shoulder, afraid he might back away from her. But her fear was unjustified, since he stood as still as a statue. She turned off the water and spoke in a soothing voice.
“What are you going to do about it?”
He turned his head toward her, his eyes both passionate and confused, dreary and full of life.
“I don’t belong anywhere, Selene”, he said and shook his head.
She’d had no idea how truly lost he felt but now that she did, she would do anything to help him, to ease his pain.
“Sometimes you have to go back to the place you ran away from in order to find your new beginning”, she whispered and ducked under his arm to get in between him and the countertop. His arms created a small, comfortable cage, and she put her own arms around his neck. He lowered his forehead on hers and stared at her eyes, listening to every word she said.
“And you do belong somewhere. You can’t just give up on looking for your place under the sun. Let me help you look”, she said and gently kissed him, careful not to hurt his busted lip.
He wrapped his arms around her waist, returning the kiss. It wasn’t frantic like usual, but it was equally passionate, maybe even more so. Their lips moving in sync, they tasted each other in sensual slowness that swept them both off their feet.
He released her hair from her pony tail, making it spill down to her waist in gentle waves he softly touched. She put her hand on his cheek, caressing the rough stubble as she rose up on her tiptoes to reach his lips a little better. She moved away to get a gulp of much-needed air and then continued to place soft kisses on his jaw and neck, enjoying how he breathed hard and how his strong arms held her tight.
“Let me give you a taste of home”, she whispered in his ear, taking his hand to lead him towards the nearest bedroom on the ground floor. But he had something else in mind.
“My room is upstairs. Come”, he said and took her to the bedroom.
It was breathtaking; a king-sized bed leaned on the wall that was made entirely out of glass and overlooked the thick woods. On the ceiling, the dark wood beams were visible, much like in her own house. On her left were French doors that led to a huge balcony and had an amazing view of the lake, the waterfalls visible in the distance. A soft, lush, white carpet covered the floor, thick and warm under her feet. And behind her, on the wall where the door stood, there were dozens of shelves filled with old records, CDs, and videotapes.
She found herself thinking it was where Chris belonged. And she couldn’t shake the feeling she belonged right next to him.
He took her hand and slowly lowered her onto his dark blue sheets, the color very similar to his hauntingly deep eyes.
He sensually climbed on top of her, reconnecting their lips and letting his hands roam all over her body. Then he took his sweet time undressing her, placing kisses on every inch of skin he gradually exposed.
He made her feel gorgeous, appreciated, and cherished the way he looked at her, like she was the only thing that existed in his world at that moment. She subconsciously noticed it had started to snow, big snowflakes creating a cocoon of privacy and comfort as they fell around the house.
Chris undressed and quickly took his place above her again, pulling the covers above them as he kissed her deeply. His lips, his body, and his passion spoke instead of his words; those gentle gestures of intimacy telling her more about his emotions than his conscious mind ever could.
He placed her arms above her head and intertwined their hands together as he placed himself between her legs, both of them ready for what they knew would come next. But before he pushed inside her, he buried his face in her neck and spoke in a hoarse voice.
“Take me, Selene. I’m yours”, he whispered.
She closed her eyes and let her tears fall down her cheeks, those soft words pushing her over the edge.
“You are”, she confirmed, making him silently groan.
He then inched slowly inside her, filling her and stretching her, giving her such a pleasure she never knew existed. She threw her head back and opened her mouth, letting out a soulful gasp of both pleasure and wonder.
His lips kissed away her tears as he moved slowly, taking all the time in the world. She had thought she knew passion with him already, but this slow lovemaking was even more intense than their previous encounters full of urgency and making up for lost time. She hadn’t known taking their time would feel even more important, more pleasurable, more everything.
It wasn’t just about sex, it could never be. And for the moment, Selene let herself get lost in the world of Chris, where she knew she belonged.
Words weren’t necessary to reach the highest of peaks. They moved together, deep in each other’s embrace, climbing into the highest of heights, where pleasure and happiness had no name. They simply existed in the state of bliss, and in the rhythm of their souls’ music, they suddenly plunged and fell apart together in the most gorgeous of melodies.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Chris woke up sometime in the middle of the night, his body finally rested after spending the entire day in bed with Selene. He felt more peaceful than ever. She had the power to heal him, both physically and emotionally.
The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was her, her head on his chest, her leg on top of his, her arm resting on his stomach. Instead of feeling panicked like he had expected to feel if he saw her sleeping in his bed, he felt... right. Like it was exactly where she belonged and exactly where he was supposed to be.
He knew he would never get tired of watching her, of listening to the sound of her voice or the way she said his name when he made her mindless in pleasure. That’s why he refused to think about the future, instead choosing to enjoy the moment and relish every minute he spent with her.
He carefully got out of the bed, not wanting to disturb her while she slept peacefully. He was thirsty and felt more energized than ever, but he didn’t want to wake her up to continue their little passion session, because she was probably tired as hell. He noticed it was still snowing, a thick layer of white all around the house already decorating the nature.
He tiptoed towards the door, and threw a glance at Selene. The view took his breath away; she was outstretched on her back, one of her hands next to her head, the other on her stomach. The sheet slid down to her waist, revealing her beautiful, full breasts. Her long eyelashes created a discontinuous shadow underneath her eyes, and her full lips that were swollen from his kisses were slightly open as she took her precious breaths. The moonlight shone all over her, making her creamy white skin shine with silver-ish glow, illuminating the red hair spread all around her. Like fire over silver. Selene, a real moon goddess. The meaning of her name couldn’t be more perfect.
Inspiration struck him hard and he rushed to the next room, where he placed his piano when the delivery had come earlier that night. He sat down at the soft bench in front of the piano and started playing the gentle tune that appeared in his head. The lyrics just popped out of nowhere and he began to sing.
If they gave me one word
To describe her perfection,
Moon goddess, light in the dark,
The soul of my life, the soundless spark,
Silver over fire,
My need and my desire,
She takes me higher, higher.
The only image dancing in front of his eyes while he sang was Selene sleeping in his bed, bathed in moonlight. The song slowly reached its end and he sadly pressed the last key. He wished the melody had no end, but as everything else in life, it had to be over.
He rubbed his face with his hands, trying to push away the ugly thoughts that returned to his mind. He didn’t have eternity with Selene, and just like the song, it would come to an end.
“It’s beautiful”, she whispered behind him, making his head snap up in surprise.
She was wearing his t-shirt, looking adorably sleepy and soft.
“Did I scare you?” she teased him, her eyebrow lifted and a soft smile on her lips.
She approached him and put a hand on his shoulder.
“Yeah, you scare me a lot”, he simply answered, her proximity immediately making him feel better.
“Well, that’s a first”, she said and sat in his lap.
He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in his most favorite place on earth, in her neck. Well, the second favorite place.
“Inspiration struck and I had to play. I hope I didn’t wake you”, he murmured as he caressed her back.
“You didn’t. I had a phone call”, she said, worry clouding her face for a second before quickly disappearing.
“What’s wrong?” he asked her, suspicious of the way she tried to mask her feelings.
“Nothing. It was just a prank call. Someone called and said something I didn’t understand and then hung up”, she said. That immediately got his attention, and a fair amount of worry.
“What did they say?”
“I can’t remember, I was still half asleep”, she said and he couldn’t conclude if she was lying or not.
“If those calls continue, tell me. Got it?” he warned her, his finger pointed at her.
She slapped his finger away and rolled her eyes before chuckling.