Rekindling Love (British Billionaires Series)

by Sorell Oates

  “No,” she said honestly.

  I don't care about the stupid plan anymore, she thought. I don't care about making a fool out of him. I care about losing him. I care about not having a second chance. I care about never feeling for anyone else the way I feel for him.

  “I don't either. I want us to put the past away. But I feel every compliment I bestow on you, you're resentful I wasn't saying it in high school. I'm concerned any expression of feelings I have now you'll relate to your weight loss. I'm petrified you'll feel trapped, obligated to stay in shape in case you think I am the type to walk out on something so shallow as looks. I can't even blame you for that.”

  “How are we ever going to know what lies ahead, unless it's a path we agree to tread together?” asked Susan calmly and sensibly.

  “You need to come with me,” he said.

  CHAPTER 26

  Standing up, she took Rupert's hand. They walked the remainder of the glass, horseshoe walkway, taking in the Grand Canyon as the flood lights were switched off. On terra firma, Susan saw a huge tee-pee constructed. The conical tent was traditionally made of animal skins. Bending her head to get in, Susan was stunned by the space inside. The double mattress on the floor, made up with dusky pink covers, was strewn with rose petals. There was a thin net to fall from the roof to over the bed. Their overnight bags were on one side. A small fire was lit, a tiny hole at the peak of the tent acting as a chimney.

  “Toilets are outside and considerably less traditional. They flush, they're comfortable and they're clean.”

  “It's glorious,” she said.

  “I asked them to do it as a honeymoon suite. They went crazy with rose petals.”

  “I was led to believe we'd have separate beds,” she teased.

  “I was cocky enough to believe I could change your mind. If I've totally misread the signs, I promise you I do have a reserve tee-pee for me.”

  “Don't worry yourself. I guarantee you won't have an uncomfortable night,” purred Susan.

  A table set to one side had an ice bucket with champagne in it.

  “Do you want a glass?” he asked.

  “Do we need a glass?” she returned, taking his hand from the bottle and putting it on her waist.

  Deftly reaching behind to close the flap to seal the tee-pee's entrance, Rupert kissed Susan, landing on the bed with her. Locked in his embrace, she submitted to kissing him. The kisses varied from wet and warm to longer, deeper ones, where their tongues would explore and tease each other’s mouths.

  Susan could feel Rupert's erection against her leg. Releasing a hand she ran it over the outline firmly, making him groan in delight.

  In no rush, he let her fumble with his belt. He held her close, smothering her in kisses. Frustrated by her inability to undo his pants, she straddled him. He bit his lip, watching her face concentrating on undoing his belt. When she finally unhooked it, she went straight to ripping open the buttons of his button fly jeans.

  “It's okay to slow down,” he said.

  The words shook her from her demented, lusty sex-haze.

  “I'm not going anywhere, Susie.”

  She sat straighter as his hands went to her jumper. His long arms were able to reach to lift it over her head. Susan shrugged it off completely.

  “What was going through my mind when I let you go?” he mumbled.

  The question was rhetorical. However catty Susan could've been, the incentive wasn't there. His fingers pulled the thin straps of her singlet. The material was pliable and he was able to drag it to her waist. The bra she was wearing was designed to support her ample bosom in place for dance routines. Rupert knew from a quick study, it was a sports bra with no clasp.

  “Will you take it off for me?”

  Wordlessly, Susan obliged. Although large, her breasts remained pert. He stayed motionless, watching her nipples harden in the chilly autumn evening air. Hands on her face, he moved them to her shoulders and ran them down her front – a palm glossing over each breast.

  Arching her back, he cupped a breast in each hand, massaging them. The hard nipples and soft white flesh were sensual to touch. Sitting up, Susan sensed his stomach tensing, the six-pack rippling under his shirt and cardigan. Kissing each nipple softly, he took his lips to her. The position enabled him to stroke her silky, white back, as soft as the flesh of her breast. Susan was nothing but femininity. The feel of her curves, tracing them with his fingers seemed to etch a picture on his brain. A memory with her he'd never forget.

  Susan was torn between security and sex. She could feel his hard-on pressing against her groin, but the embrace was on a different stratosphere. Lying on the mattress, Rupert pulled her on top of him. Legs astride as they kissed, she gyrated her hips. The sheer material of her leggings ensured she could feel his dick growing and throbbing. Her crotch was dampening.

  Susan unbuttoned his cardigan and shirt, reaching the collar she struggled with his tie.

  “Easy tiger,” he said, “I know I wasn't at my best fifteen years ago but don't strangle me as revenge.”

  Embarrassed by her ignorance, she watched as Rupert loosened the knot and slipped it over his head. She'd seen hints of it at every gym session but to finally have his naked torso at the mercy of her caressing hands was what she'd been longing for. Tanned, there was a thatch of black hair leading from his navel to his pants. His chest was bare, as was his stomach. Every muscle flexing was visible to her by the light of the fire. There was no body fat on him whatsoever.

  Raising himself, he shrugged out of the layers he had on. As her hands roamed over his torso, her tender touch was becoming torturous. His weight and speed were no match for her. When he rolled her over to get on top, she hadn't realized what was happening to even try to struggle. His mouth crushed down hard on hers. Passion competing with love. Grateful for the uncomplicated leggings, Rupert eased them southward.

  Her toned stomach was soft with the hint of a curve. Kissing her breasts, he slithered down her body to kiss her stomach.

  Susan was uncomfortable about what she referred to as her “wobbly” bits, yet Rupert appeared to enjoying them. His teeth caught the elastic of her cotton briefs. Growling playfully, he tore them. Surprising himself, he tore them clean off her. Her mound was perfect and he kissed it impulsively. Edging lower, his tongue made contact with her bud. She gasped at the unexpected sensation of the tip of his tongue exerting pressure on her clit. Pressing down and releasing was fun, but he changed tactics to let his tongue trace over and around the sensitive area. Her taste was tantalizing, tempting him to lick lower and broader.

  Her pelvis raised involuntarily at the intimacy of the act, taking her ever closer to the brink of orgasm. Trailing kisses on the inside of her thighs, he knelt between her parted legs and shoved his jeans to his knees. His tight legged Calvin Kleins were unable to disguise the pulsating erection. He put his thumb into the elastic waist band, lowering it down his hip.

  Susan could see the flat pubis and dark hair. The prominent hip bone was sexy. She had a desire to kiss it. Removing his hand, the boxers sprung into place.

  “Don't be coy, Rupert. It doesn't suit you,” she said, acting the part of the confident seductress.

  He stayed still a moment or two, watching her eyes glued to his hard-on. Taking his time to sheath his erection was a tantalizing sight. Removing her leggings and leg warmers completely, he flung her legs over his shoulders. Her legs were like jelly as her breathing became raspy. Lowering his boxers to free his cock, he slid it slowly into Susan.

  Watching her face was heavenly, as she shut her eyes, tipped her head to enjoy the initial penetration. That second where he would push the helmet of his shaft into her slit. Boring deep, she was caught in the ecstasy. His hips moved, burying his dick further and further inside her. Pelvis raised, she had no control to shallow his movements, but she didn't want to. The hungrier he became to consume her sexually, the more turned on she was. The sex was more than satisfactory, it was stimulating her body, heart an
d mind.

  As his pace gradually increased, his hand returned to her mound. Slippery and wet, his thumb found her clit to toy with as they made love. He expertly glided it over the bud, varying patterns, pace and pressure. When he was overcome with love, the feeling of being inside the most splendorous woman he'd ever known, he bucked his hips hard. The stabbing sensation caused Susan to cry out, but the shock of him releasing his load in her was lost as electric tingles originating at her nub, coursed through her body causing it to convulse in sexual pleasure.

  The orgasm having passed, Rupert's eyes were already closing. Removing the rubber he discretely placed it in a convenient wicker bin within arms reach.

  “It's not that I'm not the kind of man who doesn't enjoy pillow talk,” he croaked, spooning her. “But nature created us to rest and recuperate to prepare for round two. As a man, I'm programmed that way. I have to sleep, but I want to be sleeping next to you and I'm hoping I'll wake up next to you.”

  CHAPTER 27

  Round two had been lazy, loving sex. Limbs entwined, their bodies were pasted together from the steam created of clinging as they slept. Spooning her, Rupert lifted a leg to enter her. He glided in and out smoothly and slowly. His free hand returned to her clit to work it till she climaxed. His shaft imbibed deep, the contractions of her orgasms clenching his erection from within brought him over the edge.

  There was no need for words. Their bodies spoke for them.

  “We’ll have to make a move soon,” said Rupert regretfully.

  “Must we?”

  “Three hours ahead in New York, five hour flight and I need to get you ready and rested for tomorrow night.”

  “Oh God, the opening night. I'm not sure I can bear it. Can't we stay here forever?”

  “Nice thought, but people would suspect I'd kidnapped you.”

  “The publicity would be great for my career, not to mention Rekindling Love,” jested Susie.

  “The things you do for love.”

  “I need a shower. Will you take me to the bathrooms?”

  “No.”

  “Rupert!”

  “What? You smell divine. I don't want you using soap and washing the pheromones away.”

  “I smell of sweat and sex. You think it's nice now, but five hours in that plane and we'll both reek.”

  “Fair enough, gorgeous, I'll show you the way.”

  Under the warm shower, Susan was whimsical. It was as if the water was washing away the emotion and truth from their night. She lambasted herself for her sentimentality. After toweling herself dry, she rummaged through her overnight bag. The black cocktail dress had been a waste of time. She'd eaten in beautiful surroundings, which must have cost Rupert a fortune to organize, like a hobo.

  Squeezing into her faded blue, skin-tight, flared jeans, they were so long Rupert would miss seeing her black, leather, kitten-heeled boots. The cream, turtle neck jumper was cashmere and flattered her curves. At least she'd be more confident heading home than she was flying out. That said, having spent the night and morning making love with Rupert, she knew she could've worn a garbage bag home and felt like a million bucks.

  Rupert stepped out of the male showers.

  “Why are you huffing?” he queried.

  Realizing she'd been sighing louder than intended, Susan couldn't see a point of pretense.

  “You are effortlessly dishy. You stand there in your black jeans and shoes, your white v-neck t-shirt and slim-fit denim shirt, sleeves rolled up to show off your endeavors at the gym. That black slouch beanie doesn't hide the shaved head, it emphasizes your stunning bone structure. It takes you less than ten minutes to look that tasty. I work out, eat healthy and somehow I never quite make the grade.”

  “That's your head telling you something very different, to my eyes. To me you're beautiful. I often wonder if in high school, while you were being Miss Personality, if you did not notice that boys were looking at you, admiring you, and lusting after you. Had you talked yourself out of being that kind of girl, based solely on how some idiots reacted to your weight?”

  “Perhaps I did.”

  “Perhaps it's time you stopped then,” he proclaimed.

  He kissed her.

  “I love you, Susie. I always have.”

  Her inability to say the words back was going to make for an awkward flight home.

  It's not as though I don't love him, thought Susan, I just wasn't expecting him to say it. Let alone initiate saying it. I think half my head was trapped with the idea of making a fool out of him. My heart got twisted. I forgot what was real and what was not. If someone says they love you and you don't say it back, it's the end of any relationship and ours hadn't even started.

  She climbed in the cockpit with him. Gripping his hand, he gently shook it off, giving her a smile to take the bite out. He was checking dials and an array of panels on the console, which accounted for him not wanting to hold hands.

  “It's not that I don't love you,” she said into the head-piece.

  Rupert's eyes bulged.

  “Susie, we're on the same line as traffic control. Wait till we're in the air.”

  After ground control had a few laughs at her declaration of love, Rupert skillfully got the vehicle air-bound and heading to New York.

  “That was embarrassing,” she said into the microphone.

  “For me, not you.”

  “Sorry.”

  “It's not your fault. It was funny in its way. I don't think any guy wants a room full of air traffic control folks listening in to a private conversation.”

  “I was only going to say, it's not that I don't love you.”

  “Susie you aren't obliged to tell me something you don't mean. Don't say it because you think it's what I want to hear.”

  “Do I get a chance to finish what I was going to say Mr. Defensive?”

  “I'm being prickly and over-sensitive. Say what you will,” he said curtly.

  “It's not that I don't love you. It's that I've never stopped loving you. I told you that. To hear those words from your lips, the words I’ve waited fifteen years for, was always going to be like a bowling ball knocking over a skittle.”

  He reached for her hand, lifted it to his mouth to kiss the top of it.

  “I thought I should seize the moment, not swallow it up like I have everything else. Never telling people how I truly feel.”

  “I do that sometimes.”

  “Really?” his tone was incredulous.

  “Don't be so surprised. I've never once told my father how betrayed I feel by his behavior. I feel as though he blames me for mum's death. She had ovarian cancer not long after I was born. He was already directing in theater, mum was on stage. As I grew up he made it perfectly clear that his personal and professional life were separate and never the two shall meet.”

  “I thought when you left Brighton College, you were going to be with him in London.”

  “That's what a normal parent would do. I made the mistake of ringing my dad, desperately hoping he'd have advice or consolation or sympathy for what happened with you and Nikki. It was the biggest mistake of my life. He sent me back to America because he didn't want my suicide attempt or broken heart infringing on his big break,” she revealed tearfully.

  “Susie, I'm sorry.”

  “Why? It's not your fault.”

  “Again though, had I not done what I did.”

  “Coulda, woulda, shoulda. What's a girl to do?”

  “How are things with your dad?”

  “They are what they always are. He is proud of me. He loves me in his own way. And he'll continue keeping me at arm's length.”

  “Hard for me to get my head round that. My family being what they are.”

  “I know. The great thing is you cherish your family. I seem to spend my life trying to build one. That's life in the theater. You build this close-knit family and when a show folds, or your contract ends, the family unit dissipates. It's the nature of the business, but every time it happen
s I feel like I'm being divorced.”

  “Have you seen your dad recently?”

  “The night I arrived and that was it. He was furious that I wasn't staying in the same digs as David, Miller and Fiona – the British contingent of the cast. I barely got breakfast the following morning before he called a cab to send me away. I think my being on stage is just a grown up version of boarding school for him. I'm safe and sound, but not his responsibility.”

  “You sound blasé but -”

  “I'm used to it,” she cut in over Rupert. “Right now I feel like I have a future to look forward to out of theater life or am I chasing rainbows again?”