by Lauren Wood
Moving slowly, I pulled out and then pushed back in slowly. It was hard for me to catch my breath. Her tightness seemed to be suffocating the very breath out of my lungs. I had never felt so good in all of my life and I had to fight the strong urge to give it all to her, even though I knew that she wasn’t ready for it.
Her body started to move underneath me, matching my strokes so that she could have it better than the last time. It wasn’t long before she was ready to come and if I was honest with myself, I wasn’t going to make it that much longer the way things were going. Gemma just felt too good.
“Come with me Gemma. I want to feel you come around my dick.”
She shook her head like she couldn’t, but wasn’t long at all until she was doing exactly what I wanted her to do. I could feel the slickness around me, urging on each and every stroke with ease.
I filled her with my hot seeds, seconds after she called out from her own pleasure. I could feel wetness going in between our bodies and I was lost in the moment. She had come all over me and we were both wet with her honeyed juices.
“Gemma, that was….”
I couldn’t even really think enough to put a cohesive sentence together. Gemma was lying on my side, her head on my chest and I knew that I was never going to forget this moment with her as long as I lived.
“I love you Gemma.”
“I love you too Keenan. I didn’t think I would ever say that, but I do. I don’t know how this happened, but I am so in love with you.”
I knew that all of these feelings were new for her, but I still loved to hear that she loved me. I loved her, the words just spilling out of my lips every chance they got.
***
The next morning I woke up next to her and wanted more. I started to pull her to me, her body ever so willing and it was then that I realized that I’d meant every word I had said to her last night. How could I not love her? She was perfect for me and it was the first time that I didn’t want anyone else. She was all that I needed, all that I wanted for the rest of my life.
Her green eyes popped open and she started a little because I was so close.
“Were you not expecting me?”
“No, it’s just.” She closed her eyes and I could see a smile spreading across her face. Was she replaying the night before as I had several times already?
“Good morning Keenan.”
“I was going to see if you wanted some more…”
Her face changed and she shook her head. “I am so sore Keenan. Can you wait a little while?”
“We have forever Gemma.” My ardor cooled, but it wasn’t possible to turn it off all together. There was just no way I could pretend that I wasn’t smitten completely. I wanted to be inside of her all of the time if that were possible. But I hadn’t been so gentle last night in the end. She had encouraged me on when I needed no encouragement and there was no way that I could have stopped myself. She was a little minx and it was impossible to say no to her. I just wanted her happy and I knew that I would do anything to make it happen.
“That sounds nice.”
“You didn’t used to think so.”
“I guess things have changed.”
I smiled to myself and felt pleased that it had worked. One night was all that I needed and once she was in my arms, I was sure that she would see that we were to be together. Now I knew that I was right and she was mine. I wasn’t going to screw this up and it was the first time that I thought in those terms.
“I am glad. Things changed for me a long time ago.”
Gemma was smiling to herself and I could tell that she liked what was happening and I wondered if I could get her to give in to the other part. I wanted her badly and the more I tried to push it from my mind, the more she would move and display something on her that I couldn’t refuse.
“Why don’t we go take a nice hot bath?”
She looked up at me and smiled shyly. I had seen every inch of her, but now she was acting as if I hadn’t licked and sucked every bit of her body already.
“Are you sure?”
I shook my head. I was sure of this like I was sure of her. I wanted to get her all hot and wet. Then she wouldn’t be able to deny me. If she felt the way that I did, there was no way that she was going to be able to do that.
Gemma agreed and she covered her body as we walked into the large bathroom in the suite. I waited for her to drop the sheet, but she waited until almost the last minute to drop what was covering her and to get into the large garden tub.
“When did you become so shy?”
She shrugged. “It is really light now. Last night it was dark.”
“I have seen every inch of you Gemma and I love what I see. You are perfect in my eyes.”
Her hand finally moved down her body and she let me see everything again. I took all of the time I could, staring at her and memorizing every inch of her body. I was transfixed by her and I knew that I was never going to get enough of her.
I bent down and took one of the tips into my mouth. I watched her face fill with emotions as I did it and I had to wonder what it was she was feeling. Her eyes finally closed, blocking out the clear window into her heart and I knew that I had to have her again. How could she deny me? Didn’t she feel the same electricity that ran between us? It was intoxicating to me.
Pulling her down into the sudsy water, neither one of us cared that half of prepared bath water ended up on the floor of the bathroom. When we left Japan, it felt like everything was right with the world. I hated to admit it, but Ronald had been right. All it had taken was a little time alone to see that everything was just the way it was supposed to be. I would never thank him, but I owed him more than the millions he had already helped me make.
Ronald had changed my life in the few short weeks that I had known him. He had changed everything.
Chapter 19
Gemma
“You really have to stop smiling like that Gemma. It is getting annoying.”
“It is fine, really Caroline. I don’t know why you are so sour lately.”
“It’s because you are just too damn happy for your own good. I am glad it all worked out, don’t get me wrong, but you are positively glowing. You hear people say that, but you really are.”
I smiled at my cousin and I felt my cheeks getting a bit red. It had been a month since I had seen her and all she had talked about was how different I was. Could I be that different in a few weeks? I sure felt different, like everything was finally going the way I wanted it to. I didn’t even know that I was missing Keenan until I had him. Now I can’t even think of what life would be like without him. I didn’t even want to think about it.
“I am happy. I didn’t think I would be, but I am.”
She looked at me confused and I forgot for a moment that no one really knows the truth of me and Keenan. I had kept it a secret because I was embarrassed, but now I didn’t want anyone to know because I feel like it would have slighted our love story. I married him because I was forced into it, but I love him because of the good man that he is.
“You didn’t know if you would be happy? Then why in the world would you marry him in the first place?”
Her question had me stumped. I really wasn’t sure what to say and instead of answering I just shrugged it off. “You know how marriage is. It is either really good, really bad or you just exist.”
Caroline didn’t understand because I was not doing a very good of explaining it. “I don’t know Caroline. I was just worried about what was going to happen. It turned out better than I would have hoped for and now I am glad it happened.”
My wording wasn’t right and she was always looking for some gossip, but I wasn’t going to give it to her. Instead I asked her how she was doing. I had gotten a wedding invitation recently and I asked her about it.
“It looks like you are going to be just as happy as me soon enough.”
That got Caroline off me and she smiled in a way. “Yeah, he is nice. I don’t know if William is
perfect like Keenan, but we can’t all marry rich billionaires, can we?”
I hadn’t met the new guy. I felt guilty that I had been so wrapped up in my own life that I hadn’t even had time to see about hers. I hadn’t even heard about this guy a month ago and now she was getting married. It just didn’t make any sense and I was finding that I was the one that wanted to put two and two together.
“So where did you meet William?”
“At work. You know some of us still work for a living.”
It was a dig at my easy life, one that I had guaranteed marrying Keenan, in more ways than one. I didn’t want it to be seen that way, but I could see it from her point of view.
“So he is a photographer?”
She nodded her head. “Yeah and it was love at first sight or something like that. I just knew.”
I smiled at her. It hadn’t been that way with me and Keenan. I hadn’t known till the moment I did and that was a bit of time after we had gotten married.
“I am happy for you. It is about time we found some good guys. I want to meet him.”
“You will.”
We finished shopping through the skirts that we had been going through and were about to leave when I saw someone that stopped me in my tracks. I saw a ghost and not only did I see him, he started to come towards me as if he was looking for me.
“Gemma. I have been looking all over for you!”
I stammered out his name, but I didn’t know what to say past that. Caroline did though.
“Raphael? Is that you?”
She was just as shocked as I was. We had been a lot closer when I found out that Raphael died. My father told me and showed me a news clip about it. He had been in an accident and he was so bad off that they had to have a closed casket service. I was playing this all in my head when I saw him in front of me.
“You’re dead.”
Raphael smiled. “No sweet Gemma. I am here. I am not dead.”
I didn’t know what to say and the more I thought about it, the more questions started to play out in my mind. If he was here, who did we bury? Why don’t I get this? Did I miss something?”
“No you are dead. I buried you in a hole in the ground Raphael. You were on the news. I know you are dead.”
My voice was rising and the few people on the streets close enough to us were giving me a sideways look and I didn’t care. How could this be?
“This is just what your dad wanted you to see. He made me leave and he told you what he had to so that you would get over me. You know that he never wanted us to be together. But now there is nothing to stop us. We can be together now.”
Raphael started towards me and while a moment ago I had drunk in his face, there was something in me, nagging that this just wasn’t right. I don’t know how it was wrong, just that it was. I knew that I was never going to understand this. I needed answers and the last thing that I wanted was for him to touch me.
I took a few steps back and he stopped. ”What is it?”
“How did my father convince you to leave Raphael? If you really loved me you would have stayed and fought for us. Instead you let me think you were dead? Do you know what that did to me?”
He put his head down and it was then that I noticed how long his hair was. It covered his face and he looked darker like he had been in the sun a lot. Where had he been?
“I’m sorry Gemma, I really am. It couldn’t be helped. You know how your father is.”
“Yes I do. I also know that he always makes a good deal, so you must have gotten something out of it. He would have offered you something, so what was it?”
I had gone from shock, to missing him to not quite believing him. Why was he here all of a sudden when everything in my life was finally going right?
“It wasn’t like that.”
“It was Raphael. I have known my father my whole life. He always finds a person’s price, so I want to know what the price was for us?”
“You don’t want to do this Gemma. It wasn’t like that at all. You are reading into it all wrong.”
I shook my head. I knew that there was more to it than this and the more he didn’t want to tell me about it, the more I felt like he was just lying to me anyways.
“So just tell me what it was that my father offered you to do this to me Raphael?”
“I didn’t think this was going to go like this Gemma. I have wanted to see you for so long. I regret what happened, more than you will ever know. You have to believe me.”
“I am not the same girl that was crushed so long ago Raphael. I have mourned you for years. I will no longer since you are right here. But I have to know what it was that our relationship was worth. What was worth you doing this to me?”
“A million dollars.”
My heart wrenched in my chest and though I had known as soon as I seen him what really happened, to hear it out of his mouth was another thing altogether.
“So you did this all for money?”
Raphael was quiet and so was Caroline. For her that was a miracle and I knew that her mind was running a mile a minute. I couldn’t believe that dad would do this, but then again I could. I had known him for all of my life and he would get his way, one way or another. Maybe he had done me a favor with Raphael, but I would never forgive him for it. He could have told me instead of letting me think that he was dead the whole time.
“I had to Gemma. You know what I had going on in my life. Mom was broke and it just worked out that way. She found out about the offer and wouldn’t let me tell him no.”
I just shook my head. I was still in shock, but it was another feeling coming over me. How much time had I wasted grieving over this man? Too long I decided and I didn’t know what else to say. I had a new life that didn’t include Raphael. He was not the man that I had thought he was. He was not the man that I had mourned. That Raphael was dead, at least to me.
“It is good to know that you are still alive Raphael. Thanks for letting me know after all of this time.”
He was frustrated that I hadn’t reacted the way he wanted me to. I don’t know what he expected, but it wasn’t this. He had this look in his eyes that he couldn’t believe I was turning him away. Did he really think that we would somehow be together? Surely he wasn’t that stupid, not after me finding out the truth?
“I love you Gemma. I have always loved you.”
I wasn’t going to hear it anymore. There was no way that he loved me like he said he did if he was capable of doing something like this to me.
“If you loved me, you wouldn’t have done this to me Raphael. You would have known that this was going to kill me. I loved you too and losing you was the hardest thing I have ever had to go through.”
“Then if you love me and I love you, why can’t we work this out?”
“Because there is too much between us and I am married now Raphael. You couldn’t have done this a month ago?” Even as I said it, I knew that I wouldn’t change meeting Keenan for anything else in the world. I knew now that what I had with Raphael hadn’t been love. It was exciting and I liked being wanted, but at the end of the day, I wasn’t in love with him like I am with Keenan. I couldn’t think of life without Keenan, ever.
“Do you love him Gemma? Do you love him like you loved me?”
I thought about it for a minute and I really didn’t have to think about it that long. “Yes Raphael, I love him more. With him it is real and I know he wouldn’t take a million dollars to leave me. He loves me too much.”
“That is because he is a billionaire Gemma. A million is nothing to him. Would he really choose you over all of his money?”
I knew that Raphael didn’t know anything, but I didn’t like the answer to his question. I would never say it out loud, but I would have to really think about it. I had thought that what we had was real, but hadn’t Keenan done all of this so that he could have more money, even though he had enough?
I liked to think that it was different because he didn’t know me then. Now he wouldn�
��t do something like that… I don’t think so anyways.
When I walked away from Raphael, I knew that part of my life was over, but I didn’t like the uncertainty that I had now. What if what he said was true and the man I loved and was married to was no different?. How much would it take for Keenan to do the same thing?
It had me wondering what his price was going to be. My father used to tell me, “Gemma, everyone has a price.” Now I wanted to know what my billionaire husband’s price was.
Chapter 20
Epilogue
One year later
Gemma
“Gemma you can’t be serious. I thought things were going well for the two of you?”
“They are, but I want to know. You have put it in my head long enough and I can’t take it anymore. I have to know what his price is. You know that I know about Raphael and I don’t forgive you for it still, but I want you to do the same to Keenan. I have to know what his answer will be.”
“And what if he gives me a price?”
“Then give it to him. It will mean what I have feared all of this time since I saw Raphael again.”
“He ran out of money that was why he was back. So why do you want to do this now Gemma? It has been a year.”
“I know, but I am pregnant now and I want to make sure that the father of my child is with me for the right reasons. You caused this to be a doubt in my mind, so I want you to fix it and find out if he is like all of the rest.”
Dad didn’t know what to say. I could tell that he was searching for the right way to say this, but there was none. It was a bad situation all the way around and I wanted to know what was real and what wasn’t. As soon as I found out I was pregnant, I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to live with that doubt anymore. I had to know, no matter how hard it was going to be if it turned out that feeling in the pit of my stomach was right.
“I will do this Gemma, but I think you are messing with fire. What happens if this all blows up in your face?”
