Larissa smiled to herself. So this was the Fiona that Ian had asked Sean about when he stormed into her suite. She remembered his tortured face when he spoke her name.
She also took note of the longing look Fiona gave Ian before walking away.
* * * *
As they ate their dinner, Larissa began to feel sick at her stomach. A small but tantalizing thought took root in her mind. What if she was pregnant? She knew it took from two to ten weeks before morning sickness appeared, so her nausea was probably caused by a stomach bug. Still, she couldn't help but fantasize about what Sean's child might look like. Golden blond like him or dark like her? Maybe a mixture of both of them, but with his amazing green eyes?
They had made love seven times without a condom.
Lucky seven?
Of course, quantity didn't matter because it all depended on whether or not it was her fertile time of the month. If she got pregnant, how would she handle it?
I'd be happier than I've ever been in my life.
The longer she thought about it, the more she criticized herself for behaving irresponsibly to say the least. After all, she wasn't some clueless teenager. It wasn't right to keep having unprotected sex without any thought to the consequences or any concern for Sean's feelings in the matter.
That settled it. From now on, she was back on birth control.
“I'm not feeling well,” she said to Dina. “Excuse me.”
Larissa hurried to the restroom and threw up her dinner. When she came out, Fiona was working in the galley.
“May I speak to you?” Larissa stood in the doorway and swept a nervous hand through her hair.
Fiona turned at the sound of her voice. When she saw Larissa standing there, her eyes narrowed and her mouth hardened into a thin line. “How can I help you, ma'am?”
Her voice was so cold, Larissa almost walked away. Instead, she squared her shoulders.
“I believe you're acquainted with Ian Renard,” she said softly.
A flush spread across Fiona's cheeks. “I know him.”
“I—” Now that she had Fiona's attention, Larissa was unsure how to proceed.
“Listen, if you're warning me off him, don't bother,” said Fiona. “He's all yours.”
“No, I'm not interested in him that way.” “Is that what you wanted to tell me?” There was a slight thawing in Fiona's cold demeanor.
“I also wanted you to understand what happened between Ian and me.”
“I don't think I want to hear this.”
Larissa plowed on. “What you don't know is I seduced Ian because I was trying to forget Captain Merrick.”
A glimmer of hope brightened Fiona's gaze.
“I'm in love with Sean.” Larissa couldn't stop herself from smiling and Fiona gave her a small smile in return.
“When Ian met you, it was over between us,” she continued. “Actually, there never was any 'us' to begin with. He's a good friend, but that's all he's ever been to me.”
“Really?” The hope in Fiona's eyes grew and blossomed.
“Yes, but that's not why I wanted to talk to you.” Larissa wondered if she could breach the invisible wall the girl had built around herself. “I don't know how you feel about him, but I can see how much Ian cares about you.”
Fiona's lip trembled.
“Maybe you feel the same way about him?”
“I don't think that's any of your—”
“I know. It's none of my business.” Larissa held up her hand. “It's just that I've never seen Ian as miserable and unhappy as he is now. And I've never seen him care so deeply for anyone before you.”
“Are you serious?”
Larissa nodded. “After meeting you, I can see he's finally developing some good taste.”
“I don't know about good taste.” Fiona gave a short, bitter laugh. “I grew up in a trailer park, and I don't have any family. My past is a nightmare and I'd just embarrass him. I don't fit into his world.”
“Who says you don't? If we're truthful with ourselves, we all have baggage we carry around with us. Do you know what my father did for a living? He drove a garbage truck every morning. When I was a child, I stuttered badly and was so painfully shy I couldn't even look at people.”
She touched Fiona's shoulder. “We're all unique individuals and we all deserve our own chance at happiness. I believe everyone has the right to choose where they want to belong.”
“Do you really believe that?”
“I must believe it.”
Fiona frowned. “Do you think I could be part of his life?”
“You're already part of his life. He's made you part of his life.”
“I think Ian is a special man,” Larissa continued. “If you're the woman he loves, then you must be special also.”
A tear slid down Fiona's cheek and she wiped it away with the back of her hand. “Thank you for talking to me.”
“Thank you for listening.”
* * * *
“So what's your favorite food, Heathcliff?”
Ian looked up to see Fiona staring down at him.
“Excuse me?” he said in confusion.
“You know, for the dinner I'm going to cook you in New York. What would you like me to fix?”
He couldn't control the smile which spread across his face and softened his rugged masculine features.
Chapter 22
In the dream, Larissa found herself dressed in the garb of an aristocratic lady of a bygone era. The dress she wore was made of the finest satin and clung to her body in soft, luxurious folds. She stood at the entrance to the ballroom and watched as ladies in formal gowns and gentlemen in dazzling uniforms danced to the strains of a Viennese waltz.
Then she saw him walking toward her. He resembled her dearest love Sean Merrick, but there were subtle differences. Sean was different in this dream, just as she was different.
He walked with the proud aristocratic bearing of a nobleman and the straight-backed posture of a man accustomed to wielding authority and having other men under his command. He wore the well-pressed uniform of a military officer and his eyes were sharp, as if he were accustomed to sizing up his adversaries before a great battle. Larissa couldn't tear her gaze away from this glorious creature who had walked straight out of a fairytale.
“Would you care to dance with me?” His words were polite, but his mesmerizing green eyes bore into hers, heating her body with the devouring urgency of a forest fire.
How could she refuse him? In this flight of fancy, as in real life, she could deny him nothing.
“I would be delighted, sir,” she heard herself say.
He guided her masterfully around the room. Her feet seemed to leave the bonds of earth as she floated effortlessly in the circle of his arms.
The room spun around in a flurry, and she leaned against him for support.
“I must sit down,” she whispered.
“You may rest in my chambers.” His words were a caress against her ear.
“No.” She fought the desire which filled her body. “I dare not for it wouldn't be appropriate, as I'm sure you must know.”
“I understand your feelings, but tonight I damn all rules and conventions to hell.”
She was silent as she contemplated his beautiful mouth, so firm and yet so kissable.
“I damn them as well,” she whispered.
He ushered her into his luxurious chambers where a fire blazed in the hearth and the smell of leather and cigars permeated the room. The masculine abode was appointed in expensive, finely-crafted furniture.
As she looked around the room, he pulled her into his arms. She was powerless to resist him, and he smiled in a way which left no doubt as to his irresistible attraction to women. He was supremely confident she would succumb to his considerable charms.
Despite this display of male arrogance, Larissa could no more stop herself from returning his kisses than she could stop her own heart from beating.
He undressed her slowly as he pres
sed his lips to her throat.
Her voice betrayed her nervousness. “I don't think—”
“Don't think.”
When she stood before him wearing only her corset, he took off his uniform. She wished she could be modest in this situation, but instead allowed herself to boldly admire his magnificent body. He lay his clothing across a chair and then reached for a fur throw which was draped across the bed. He spread it on the floor near the hearth.
“I have never made love before,” she said softly. “I fear I won't be able to please a man such as yourself.”
“Then let me guide you, my lady. For in truth, you have already pleased me by simply existing in this world. Your face would put an angel to shame.”
“Do not speak so for if we are truthful, your face is the one which is truly celestial.”
He led her to the fireplace and then they knelt on the soft fur. He fiddled with her corset as he attempted to remove it.
“Now we must endeavor to release you from this torturous device,” he said with a laugh.
“I pray you will hurry.”
“My innocent lass is eager for instruction?”
“From you? Yes please.”
When he removed the corset, his warm gaze roamed across her body and she blushed under his perusal. The fire was so hot her face burned, but she was unsure if it was the heat of the flames or the man at her side which caused her temperature to soar.
His lips were on hers and she tasted his sexy masculine scent. Her body tingled as his hands explored the softest parts of her person. His lips touched her breast and then he sucked on her nipple until it was a stiff pink peak.
She moaned with delight as he moved lower to kiss her belly. Then his head rested against the soft mound between her legs and she squirmed beneath him.
“Sir, I pray you will not tease me this way,” she said in frustration.
“In what way am I guilty of teasing?”
“By simply laying there when you must know how much I crave you.”
“My innocent girl has already developed a craving for love?” He kissed her thigh. “Would you like me to kiss you here?” He kissed her belly. “Or here?”
“You know where it is I wish to be kissed.” She blushed as she said the words. “Please do not make me speak it.”
“Then I will use actions instead of words.”
Suddenly, his tongue was inside her and she gasped with pleasure.
“Is this perhaps more to your liking?”
“Oh yes,” she moaned. “I had no idea it was so agonizingly pleasurable.”
“The sweetest agony,” he agreed.
Then his mouth claimed her lips and she tasted her own essence. His fingers stroked the delicate folds of skin between her legs, lingering on the one special spot which was the source of her joy.
“Please don't stop!” She tangled her hands in his hair as she nibbled on his bottom lip. His tongue explored her mouth with a fervor which matched her own.
He tugged on her earlobe with his teeth. “You respond well to my lessons.”
“You are indeed a good teacher, as I'm sure you've been told.”
“The first time will hurt,” he said softly, “but then afterwards, the pleasure will be exquisite.”
“I already enjoy this more than anything I've ever experienced.”
He laughed. “That is the way it should always be.”
He continued to stroke the small nub which brought her such pleasure. His cock rested against her, poised at the threshold of her womanhood. He entered her slowly and then with a swift stroke plunged himself into her.
“Oh.” She arched herself upwards as she rode a wave of pain. Then it passed and was replaced by a sublime sensation of fullness as her body throbbed with an urgent need to experience what?
He continued to suck on her nipples as he thrust himself into her again and again. She felt something like the strong winds before a massive storm. The storm was on its way and couldn't be stopped.
She screamed out with the overwhelming pleasure which assaulted every sense in her body.
“Can this be real?” She fell back against the fur, her body glistening with sweat, her eyes large in her flushed face.
“It is real and truly beautiful.” He pulled her to her feet and led her over to the bed. Then he lay across the blankets and positioned her on top of him.
She hesitated. “Is it right for me to be on the top?”
“There is no right or wrong way, but only what is pleasurable.” His voice was a husky whisper as he guided his cock into her again.
Larissa moved her body against his, watching his handsome face as she shifted her position to receive him more fully. He touched her breasts and gently pinched her nipples. An onslaught of pleasure filled her body until she thought she might burst with the excruciatingly seductive sensations. She cried out again, and this time his voice joined hers.
Later that evening, they stretched out in front of the fire and she lay cradled in his arms.
“I must rejoin my regiment in the morning,” he said. “But I will take the memory of this night with me into battle.”
“No!” she said. “You'll be killed. You mustn't go!”
He shook his head. “I have no choice for I've taken an oath to defend my country at all costs.”
“What of me?” Tears welled in her eyes. “How will I live until you return?”
The wood in the fireplace crackled and the room grew hotter. She held his shoulders as she pleaded with him. “It's too dangerous. Please stay with me!”
The fire blazed in the hearth and seemed to fill every corner of the room. An all-consuming flame. A force as strong as death.
“I must go,” he said.
“No!” she screamed.
“Larissa, wake up. You're having a nightmare.” Dina's voice brought her back to consciousness.
For a moment, Larissa was still in the luxuriously appointed room with the handsome military officer who looked so much like Sean. She blinked as she looked around the cabin and realized she was on her way to New York for the film premiere. Sean wasn't marching off to war and his life wasn't in danger. He was in the cockpit piloting the plane. Yet, she couldn't shake the sense of dread which now lurked in the hidden recesses of her mind. Her body was incredibly hot, her head hurt terribly, and every muscle ached. She put a hand to her forehead. She was running a fever.
* * * *
Ian watched Larissa rush down the aisle as she headed toward the first class restrooms. Her face was pale and she didn't look well.
Then Fiona was at his side again. He inhaled deeply of her seductive honeysuckle perfume. It was the scent of sex on a summer afternoon. He smiled at her and she leaned forward and whispered in his ear.
Her words were a caress against his ear. “I can't wait till we get to New York to have you. Follow me, sexy boy.”
Ian stood and followed her into the coach section.
Fiona opened the door to one of the restrooms. Taking Ian's hand, she pulled him into the small room. Once the door was closed and locked, she wrapped her arms around his neck.
“We have about ten minutes,” she whispered against his cheek. “If only we had more time.”
“Then we better make it count.”
He kissed her full lips as his hands roamed down her back, coming to rest on her delicious ass. He squeezed her derrière as she massaged his shoulders.
She pulled his shirt from the waistband of his pants. “We need to move faster.”
“I can do that.”
He slid up her skirt until it was around her waist. Then he pulled down her panties and stroked the soft folds of her pussy.
“Oh, Ian.” She threw back her head as he lifted her and sat her on the sink in front of the mirror. He liked seeing the two of them reflected in the mirror and the sight of Fiona's bare bottom nearly did him in.
He nuzzled her neck and then gave her a long, slow kiss. He could think of nothing except her full, ripe beauty
.
He lowered his head until he could kiss her pussy. She wiggled as he slid his tongue into her body.
Her voice was a breathless whisper. “Oh God, yes!”
Ian played with her clit as it swelled beneath his fingers. After a few moments, Fiona bit her lip and cried out with pleasure. Then she closed her eyes and rested her head against the mirror.
She opened her eyes. “Let's get those pants off you.”
Ian pulled down his slacks and underwear until they were around his ankles.
Fiona pulled a condom out of her skirt pocket and handed it to him.
“I've missed this so much.” He slid the condom onto his cock. “I've missed you.”
“I've missed you, too. It's been an eternity.”
“Hours can seem like an eternity when you're in love.”
She smiled at him with her seductive, yet innocent face. “Does that mean you love me?”
He held her face between his hands. “I love you more than I've ever loved anyone in my life. I'm just sorry I had to tell you that in an airplane restroom.”
She shook her head. “The setting doesn't matter. Besides, you can tell me the same thing in a thousand different settings.”
“That's a promise, darling.”
“Oh Ian, you're my knight in shining armor. Do you know that? I never thought I'd meet someone like you, not in a million years.” Her eyes were large and blue in her beautiful face. “I love you so much.”
“Do you?”
“Oh yes. It's just scary because I've never been in love before.” “My little virgin.” He kissed her roughly and then pulled her against his chest. He entered her with a sharp thrust and she wrapped her legs around his waist. She clung to him as he managed to unbutton her blouse and pull one of her breasts out of her bra. He clamped his mouth onto her firm pink nipple.
She cried out again and he couldn't hold back any longer. He shuddered with pleasure, and his orgasm was a fierce spasm which left him breathless.
When he could speak again, he said, “In case I forget, I want to thank you ahead of time for the dinner you're cooking me in New York.”
Hostages of Love (Siren Publishing Allure) Page 11
