City of Sin

by Ford, Mia

  I turn to see Noah giving me a self-satisfied smile, one that suggests he’s behind this. I don’t even know what to think about this, at the back of the gallery one of my paintings hangs there. One of my early pieces which is filled with passion and desire. The whole world shifts beneath me as I stare with wide terrified eyes at it.

  “Oh, it’s very good, isn’t it?” a woman standing in front of it comments. “It’s raw.”

  “Yes, I love it,” the man next to her remarks. “Who is the artist? Is it someone well known?”

  “A Mia Clark…” The mention of my name twists everything again. My knees knock together. I’m going to end up a puddle on the floor if I’m not careful. “Not well known, but someone up and coming.”

  “I think I might buy this piece you know…”

  I grip onto Noah’s arm as all the color floods from my body. “Buy it. Someone said they are going to buy it.”

  “Of course they are. It’s amazing. Why wouldn’t they?”

  “Because no one knows who I am…”

  “But everyone has to start somewhere.”

  I give him a look, melting inside, this man is incredible. He’s given me something that I didn’t even dare dream of and now it’s everything to me. I might not make it enough to become a full time artist, that’s incredibly rare in this day and age. I might not be able to leave the bank quite yet, but this is a start.

  “What am I going to do with you?” I pinch his side playfully. “I can’t believe you did this.”

  “I did it because I love you and I want you to know that.”

  I rest my head on his shoulder, letting all of that sink in. “I love you too, Noah. So much.”

  We stay where we are for a while, just admiring my painting. I even snap a picture of it on the wall with the red dot to indicate that it’s sold, to send it to Kayleigh. She’s understandably over the moon for me, glad to see that I’m doing so well. None of this would have happened if it wasn’t for her. She’s everything to me.

  Eventually, one of the other artists comes to speak to me, and introduces me to the others, creating the start of a network for me. There’s no telling where this might lead, and I’m very excited for it.

  * * *

  “That was amazing.” I press myself up against my apartment door swooning. “I can’t believe you did that.”

  “Of course I did, I would do anything for you. And just so you know, I’m buying some of your work as well. You can argue all you like, but you promised me some pictures for the gym and I want them.”

  “I suppose I’m not there so much now, am I? Now the marathon is done, so I can’t complain.”

  “Exactly. That’s where all of this started from, so I think I deserve my reward.”

  “Speaking of reward…”

  I shimmy over to him and slam his back up against the wall before I press my lips to his. My hand hooks possessively around the back of his neck as I dart my tongue into his mouth. I’m on fire, everything that he’s done for me today has me more turned on than any dinner ever could. And now I want to reward him.

  I move my lips from Noah’s and kiss down his throat while my fingers rapidly unbutton his shirt. I kiss and lick down his abs as more and more skin is revealed, my core throbbing with need as I go. Every inch of his is delicious, so are the little helpless moans that fly out of his mouth.

  I love having him under my control, it makes me feel so incredible sexy.

  I drop to my knees with a thud and peel his trousers off. His head lolls to one side as I brush my fingers against his cock through his boxers. He can’t even keep his eyes focused on me while I slip the underwear down. I can see him crumbling the moment I grab onto his thick length between my fingers.

  He’s wild, he’s unhinged, he’s just how I want him to be.

  I move my hand slowly at first, the hot pressure of desire building in me. Then I begin to pump. I can’t stop myself, he needs more and so do I. Eventually, the saliva fills my mouth, the desire to taste him is overwhelming, so I lean in and I press chaste kisses along him.

  “Fuck, Mia, that’s too much.” He shudders violently. “That’s too…”

  I strip the air from his lungs and silence him by wrapping my lips tightly around him. I suck his tip, darting my tongue out to lick his sweet, salty end. Then I slide my mouth down, stretching my lips around him, allowing him to fill me up completely. I push him until he hits the back of my throat, opening it up for him, taking as much of hm in as I can manage. It isn’t easy because he’s so massive, but it feels good.

  With my hand on his base, I suck and lick him all over, desire racing like a storm cloud all through me. I don’t want to stop, I want his liquid pleasure to fill my mouth, to slide down my throat, to become a part of me. But it seems that Noah has a different idea. He tucks his hands under my armpits and lifts me to my feet.

  Well, my feet only touch the floor for a second. Soon he whips me up around him and it’s my back against the wall. I have to grip my legs around him to keep me in place while he yanks my panties to one side and he slips into me in one deliciously smooth movement.

  “Oh God, Noah, that feels so good.” His thrusts slam me against the wall over and over again. “Fuck.”

  I love losing myself in his body, he always feels phenomenal, but there’s something even more special about today. It feels like I’ve been at the peak of pleasure all night long, the whole evening has been foreplay, so it doesn’t take me long to tumble into the deep abyss of desire.

  “Fucking hell, Noah, that feels… you’re so…. fucking hell…”

  He drags me under the orgasmic waters and I go willingly, allowing it to fill up my lungs and drown me. I don’t know how me and Noah thought that we were going to live our lives without one another.

  Noah loses himself with me, using the wall to support me while we buckle and crumble together. We kiss to swallow up one another’s screams, only concerned with one another. As always, when we’re together, it’s only me and him. It’s hard to remember that there’s anything else even happening.

  “Oh, Mia.” He presses into me, kissing me softly all over once the hot bliss subsides. “You really are something else. I remember when you were just the hot girl in my gym, tempting me to break my rule.”

  “You have a rule?” I giggle.

  “Yes, of course I have a rule. I never mix business with pleasure.”

  “Oh, I see… I didn’t realize that…”

  “I know, but you were so beautiful I couldn’t resist.” He kisses me a couple of times. “And I’m so glad now.”

  As he drops me to the ground, I see something else on his face, there’s an expression which I don’t know how to deal with. I cock an eye curiously at him, waiting for him to explain.

  “I have another surprise for you.”

  “You do? What else can you possibly have for me? You’ve done so much for me today.”

  “I’m taking you away,” he replies with a smile. “Me, you, Alex, and Mom.”

  “What do you mean? Like a family vacation?”

  “Exactly. Is that okay?”

  “Is that okay?” I can’t believe he would even say that. “Are you serious?”

  “I think we need it after everything we’ve been through, don’t you?”

  “Where are we going?”

  “That part I’m keeping a surprise until we get there.”

  I can’t believe I have it all, the things I wanted to make my life more exciting. A fling turned to something more romantic, the start to a brand new career, and now a vacation. I don’t quite know how I ended up so lucky!

  23

  Noah

  “Paris is an absolute dream, isn’t it?” Mom says to Mia. “I’m so glad we’re all here. I bet you’re all inspired, aren’t you? You certainly look like you’ve got all sorts running through your mind.”

  “I know, I love it.” Mia’s cheeks flush with happiness. “It’s absolutely amazing here. I want to be here all the time.
It’s like one of those dream come true holidays, isn’t it? I just want to paint all the time. And the art galleries that we’ve been to are incredible. I love them so much. They are something else!”

  “When are we going back to the tower?” my son interrupts.

  Alex bounces up and down on Mia’s lap, having taken to her better than expected. After everything that had happened with Hayley, I was so scared to introduce them to one another, but as it turns out it’s gone really well. He asks about her often when she’s not around, sometimes I think he even prefers her to me, which is awesome.

  He now has another positive female role model in his life which is everything. Especially with his mother’s trial looming over our heads. It will come and go soon and she’ll be locked up for a very long time.

  This works out brilliantly for me because I want to ask Mia to move in with me. She’s around a lot anyway so it won’t be too much of a huge step, but I want her to be more officially mine.

  “We can go back to the Eifel Tower tomorrow, if you want?”

  “Yeah! I want to go back to the top again. It was scary up there but fun too.”

  “Anything you want, sweetheart.” Mia hugs him tight, loving Alex just as much as he does her. To think I thought she would reject me because of him. I was an idiot. “We can spend as long as you want up there.”

  It’s moments like these when I realize just how important family is to me. It’s everything and I want to put more into it. I want to have lots of vacations like this, it’s like a dream.

  I’m so glad I finally took a step back from the gym and let Josh take control of the day shifts. I still go in now and again to keep an eye on things and to work out but it’s all running just fine without me. Sure, he was quite immature and it was a big step to give him that responsibility, but he’s grown into himself and he’s done me proud. I know now that I can trust him with absolutely everything.

  Everything has worked out nothing like I expected, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t perfect.

  “Hey, Alex, why don’t me and you go for a walk?” Mom asks him tactfully. “Leave Mia and Daddy to their coffee and we can come and find them later on. I’m sure they want a little peaceful moment to herself.”

  “Yeah! Thank you, Grandma. I’m finished eating.” He dropped the croissant, done with it now.

  “Me too. Let’s take a look at those nice little stores down there, shall we?”

  He bounds away, gripping onto her hand down the Camps Elysees like he belongs here. Me and Mia giggle like crazy as he skips off, happy for him to enjoy himself so much. He really is enjoying this holiday.

  “And, are you enjoying yourself?” I ask her with a smile. “You’re glad you came?”

  “I wouldn’t change this for anything in the world. It’s been the best experience ever. Thank you so much for bringing me here, honestly, I’m having the best time, Europe is amazing, I want to see it all.”

  “Like I said, you deserve it, after everything you went through with me. You should have run!”

  “I know, but apparently I’m a crazy person so I decided to stay… thank goodness.”

  She slides her hands across the table and I take them. As I touch her skin I still get bolts of electricity racing through me. None of the passion between us seems to dull at all, it doesn’t matter how much time passes.

  “So, what are you thinking now?” I ask her with a playful smirk. “We have some time alone.”

  “Ooh, we could go for a lovely walk, or we could visit a nice store, or we could…”

  “Our hotel is just around the corner.” I wiggle my eyebrows playfully at her, a cheeky suggestion running through my mind. “We could have some time alone. Mom won’t be back for ages.”

  “Ooh, you are bad, aren’t you?” she pinches me playfully. “I don’t know what to do with you.”

  “You love it and you know it.” I laugh as she bolts upright. “I knew you’d love it.”

  “I think you know me too well now. I’m not longer a mystery to you. That’s a problem…”

  I grab her by the waist and pull her in for a kiss. “You will always be a mystery to me.”

  “Come on then, let’s go now.” She pulls me along with her. “Before your mom catches us.”

  We sneak off like teenagers filled with lust who can’t wait to get their hands on one another. Giddiness consumes the both of us, we can’t stop laughing, which is one of the other amazing things about me and Mia. She’s like my best friend as well as my girlfriend, I’m so comfortable, so connected with her. If we weren’t together then I’m sure we would be best mates… but I fancy the pants off her so I couldn’t just be her friend. She’s still the most tempting woman that I’ve ever met on the planet.

  We collapse through the hotel room door together, our limbs entangled with one another, stripping each other’s clothes off desperately, lust consuming us. We know we don’t have too long until we need to show our faces again and we both want to make the most of every delicious, glorious moment…

  * * *

  “We probably should get up soon, shouldn’t we?” I ask Mia lazily while running my fingers through her hair, the urgency before long gone now. “Mom might be looking for us. We can’t just lie around all day…”

  Mia curls into me. “She would have called by now if she wanted us and I’m really enjoying being here…”

  “Yeah, that’s true.” I pull her back on top of me. “Maybe we have time for a little bit more fun.”

  “You think so?” She runs her fingers through my hair and kisses me gently. “I’m not too sure.”

  I run a hand up her leg and rest it on her butt. “Are you sure? I think I might be able to change your mind.”

  A shiver runs up and down her spine, I can feel it as she shudders. I already know that she’s turned on, that it won’t take long for me to get her where I want her to be. I move my hand between her thigh and touch her gently, softly, not putting too much pressure on her. She rolls her hips into me, grinding against my fingers.

  “Ooh, look at that. It’s almost as if I’m changing your mind already?”

  “Shut up you.” She tosses her head back, looking beautiful. “Just carry on doing what you’re doing.”

  I pull her up my body a bit until her breast is in my mouth and I flick my tongue all over her nipple. My fingers edge further and further into her, her wet heat covering me. My cock springs to attention, doing the thinking for me. I might be absolutely exhausted, but I still want her again. I won’t ever stop.

  God, she’s so hot, so beautiful, I pull her down to suck on her neck, to taste all of her…

  “Oh, shit…” she calls out, her voice absolutely stricken.

  “Are you okay?” I pull away, immediately knowing that wasn’t a yell of pleasure. “Shit, Mia?”

  “I feel sick.” She claps her hands to her mouth, a greenness covering her face. “I’m sorry, I feel…”

  She bolts up from the bed and runs into the bathroom, slamming the door hard behind her. I feel awful as I hear the intense retching sounds from the other side of the door. She’s throwing up and it sounds nasty.

  “Are you okay, Mia?” I cry out. I grab some sweat pants to pull on so I can rush to help her as much as I can. “Are you sick? What do you think it is? Food poisoning?”

  “Urgh, I don’t know.” She sounds weak and feeble. “I’m sorry, Noah.”

  “Why are you sorry?” I press my ear up against the door to listen to her.

  “I don’t want to ruin our holiday being ill.” She sounds miserable. “I don’t like this.”

  “You can’t help that. You just get better. Shall I get you water or something?”

  “Erm, yes please.” More retching follows. “Water would be great.”

  I feel a bit helpless, I wish there was something I could do, but I suppose I can just get her water and stuff until she recovers. I grab my phone to text Mom to warn her what’s going on, then I head for the sink for water.

&nbs
p; * * *

  Mom peers through the door nervously as if she doesn’t quite know if she should come in or not.

  “It’s okay.” I wave her and Alex inside. “Mia has stopped throwing up. She’s asleep now.”

  “I went to the drug store on the way back and got some stuff that might help her.”

  She hands me a brown paper bag and takes Alex to sit in the other room with his new toys. He starts playing happily while I glance through the things that Mom has brought, noting all the sickness medications.

  “Mom.” I grip onto one box and give her a curious look. “What the hell is this?”

  “Well, I just thought it might be an option.” She offers me a half shrug, trying to look innocent.

  “You really think this might be why she’s sick? I don’t see how…”

  “Are you telling me that you’ve always been careful?” The guilt crosses my face making it absolutely obvious that in the heat of the moment we haven’t always used condoms. “So, pregnancy might be an option.”

  I stare at Mia in the bed, everything tilting and shifting as I consider her with my baby growing inside of her.

  “What would you think about that?” Mom asks me curiously. “Would it be bad news?”

  “No.” I shake my head firmly. “Not for me it wouldn’t. I think it would be awesome.”

  Mom claps her hands together happily. “I think Mia would like it too. It might be a big shock but I’m sure she’ll be over the moon. You’ve already seen how good she is with Alex. She will be an awesome Mom.”

  I can see Mia with a little bundle of joy in her arms and it’s an awesome sight. I really like it, our family will be complete. I already wanted her to move in with me so this is just the next step.

  She might be my wife, the mother of my children, the woman I love forever more. It isn’t a scary image, I actually really like it. It would be the happy ever after I love more than anything else.

  “Well, don’t get carried away, she might not be yet, she’s just a possibility.”