by Emma Quinn
She straightened up and her body was entirely exposed in front of him. Her mound was soft and bare. The need to touch her was all consuming, pushing him to cup her heat with his palm.
“Oh,” she breathed.
He let his middle finger slide along her lips, finding that they were hot and moist. The tip of his finger carefully slipped between her lips to just barely touch inside her.
She jerked towards him as she cried, “Please!”
That was it. He couldn’t stand it anymore. He desperately needed her—now.
He pulled his hands away and was pleased to hear her whimper at the loss. A moment later, he grabbed her beneath her butt cheeks and lifted. She automatically spread her legs to wrap them around his middle, trapping his hardness between them.
It was the sweetest kind of torture to be hard along the line of her lips like that.
Her arms wrapped around his neck and shoulders and she began to kiss him. His mouth, his face and neck, his shoulders. Anywhere her mouth could reach, she placed her lips and tongue. She did it as he carried her up the stairs, their bodies moving slightly against each other in agonizing pleasure.
When he finally reached the bedroom, he dropped them down onto the bed.
He kissed her deeply, his tongue delving into her mouth to taste her. At the same time, his hands went to her thighs and pressed at them until she spread her legs farther.
The throbbing ache of his cock left him desperate for her.
He lined himself up at her entrance and broke the kiss to ask, “Helen, please, can I have you?”
He felt her entire body shudder against him and then she nodded, but it wasn’t until she verbalized her decision that he started, “Yes.”
Carefully, he pressed the head of his member at her moist lips. After a moment, he pressed himself forward and slid between her folds. She gasped as his head popped into her core. And when he pushed the next inch in, she arched her back and moaned. With the next inch, she cried out his name.
“Michael!”
It felt like an eternity of moving inch by inch until he was buried entirely within her warm center.
“You’re so tight,” he murmured. “So warm.”
She was panting beneath him and a second later rolled his hips, driving his hard length farther into her at a different angle.
He grunted and took it as the signal to begin moving.
Slowly, he began to slide out of her. She whimpered until he was almost entirely withdrawn—and then he shoved himself back inside.
She cried out and clutched at his arms, arching her back again. “Please,” she begged.
He repeated his movements, retreating only to bury himself back inside her. Each time, she cried out and writhed beneath him. And each time he drove himself closer and closer towards completion. He loved the way she looked beneath him, naked and beautiful and wonton with lust.
He found a rhythm, moving faster and faster as she clutched at him and moaned, cried out his name.
He whispered things to her that might have been “perfect” and “beautiful” or they might have been nonsense that only meant those things.
When he realized how close he was to losing himself, he reached between their bodies to find that small bundle of nerves just above where he was buried inside her. As soon as he touched that spot, she cried out and her core clenched tightly around him.
That was when he really moved.
He thrust hard and fast into her body as she slipped into ecstasy. And when he finally reached his climax, he called out her name before collapsing against her with a kiss and a wild, full heart.
17
Helen
One month later
“ I
can’t take whole weeks off from work,” said Helen.
“Why not?” countered Michael. “I’m sure the lab will survive without you, though I know it’ll be a trying time for them all. How could it not be with you gone?”
“I can’t tell if you’re trying to be funny, but yes, it will be a very trying time, I’m sure,” said Helen sarcastically. “Besides, I can’t just abandon Fiona for two whole weeks – what will she do?”
Michael shrugged.
“I think you underestimate her,” he said. “I think that if you agreed to tell Fiona everything about what happens on your two week long romantic getaway with your new beau, she would probably forget any hard feelings she had.”
Helen rolled her eyes at him, but couldn’t help her smile.
The truth was, he was absolutely right. Fiona was ecstatic that she’d begun her exciting new relationship with Michael. Despite the rough start, it seemed like things were going well.
Really well.
He was bringing up long vacations together and she was spending every other weekend mostly at his place, though there were spots reserved for others like work, Fiona, and Helen’s parents.
She began to think of Michael in longer, more permanent terms. And that was a new experience for her. She was trying to recall the last time she felt connected to someone like this and the truth was, she couldn’t think of anyone.
Not a soul.
Maybe that was sad that she didn’t have little moments like first or young love, but in reality it made her feel as though this was all the more special. The last thing Helen wanted to do was admit that maybe Fiona was right about everything and she certainly didn’t believe in things like fate. But secretly, she would admit if only to herself that she was enjoying her time with Michael.
“How about just a weekend then,” he said, oblivious to her meandering thoughts.
He was smiling in that way that she had begun to find so charming. She had seen it as a way to easily convince others to cave to his demands and to get him whatever he wanted. A few weeks ago, it would have made her angry. It would have been one of many reasons to support her theory that he was the devil or a supervillain.
But now, now she just found it charming.
She didn’t think of it as a means of getting his way anymore, just a part of him that was the way it was. She could accept that.
“I don’t know about the weekend getaway,” she told him, but she was smiling and it didn’t take a genius to know that with a little pushing, he’d get her to go. “What about my parents?”
“It’s only a couple of days,” he pointed out. “We’ll do it on the weekend even! You don’t even have to work on the weekends already and I’m sure your parents will be fine for two days!”
Helen pretended to think about it, even tapping her index finger against her chin thoughtfully. “Hmm,” she hummed.
The weekends were traditionally reserved for visiting with her parents and that was a legitimate concern of hers. She never wanted to feel like they were slipping away. But at the same time, they had grown increasingly busy. The fact that they hadn’t had to sell the restaurant, thanks to Michael, even did them a favor by drumming up some positive publicity.
A couple of weeks ago there had been a newspaper article about their restaurant that touted the determination and success of a small time restaurant that survived the big corporate takeover from Roth, Inc.
Suddenly, there were tourists stopping by just to see the couple who managed to survive the big bad takeover.
It had been a huge deal for them.
Her parents of course loved to see Helen, but they were overwhelmed on the weekends now. They didn’t have much time to spend with her beyond a hello and a how are you? Mostly, Helen ended up stopping by for a meal and getting it to go before the lunch rush slammed them.
All of this meant that of course Michael was right.
And it was also a very firm reminder that it was thanks to him that her parents still had a restaurant in the first place.
Taking her finger away from her chin, she looked at Michael. His eyes were dark, but warm. His smile was smug, but sincere.
It helped that Helen also really wanted to go on a weekend getaway with him.
Helen tilted her chin up. Mi
chael pulled her against his chest his hands going to her waist. He leaned towards her and whispered against her mouth, “I knew you would say yes.”
With his breath against her mouth she sighed. She didn't have to tell him that he was right of course he was. Instead when he leaned forward, she let him press his mouth to hers, his lips soft and warm even as his kiss was firm. Her eyes slid closed and she sighed into his mouth.
The kiss was pure tenderness and she wanted nothing more than to leave his mouth against hers.
Michael had Henry the driver bring their luggage in. At first Helen tried to help but when it was clear that she was more of a nuisance to Henry than anything she gave up and kept only her purse with her.
“Why are we unpacking my stuff?” she asked. “We'll just have to move it back into the car and drive it to my apartment.”
Michael smiled in that way he did. Charming and like he already knew that he had won. “You could just leave your stuff here,” he said.
She glanced at him over her shoulder and gave him a single raised eyebrow.
It was all she could do not to smile because there was a part of her that really wanted to just leave her stuff here. if she were being entirely honest with herself there is a big part of her that wanted to stay here permanently.
She could move out of her tiny little apartment and park her car in the garage downstairs with the five that already belonged to him. The ones he didn’t even drive, because he had a driver that would take him anywhere and by extension, her, too.
These were fantasies flitting through her head and they were tantalizing she had to admit. But they were only fantasies. At least for now. She was hopeful maybe stupidly so that one day things would be permanent and that they would live happily ever after.
But they'd only been dating a little over a month and it seemed too soon to her to trust that they would somehow move in together and be happy for the rest of their days period not everybody's relationship ended up like her parents.
“I’m not leaving two days’ worth of things here” she said.
He shrugged. “Why not? It would be significantly easier don't you think?”
She made a point of separating their luggage mostly so that she didn't have to look at him. If she looked at him, he might be able to convince her that this was a smart move. Worse, he might see the blush on her cheeks or notice the soft glow she felt emanating from her body.
“Michael,” she said finally turning to face him. “I had a wonderful weekend. No one has ever treated me as well as you have.” she paused worrying at her lower lip. “But I think we need to be careful. I don't wanna move too fast.”
She found herself holding her breath waiting for his response. Would he be upset that she wanted to take things slowly? Or would he understand that she was concerned how quickly she was becoming attached to him?
After only a moment he smiled at her. “I'm sorry if I rushed you,” he told her taking a step forward and wrapping his arms around her.
She let out the breath she'd been holding and smiled at him. “Thank god,” she said.
He laughed at her. “What? Were you worried I was going to be upset?”
She smacked halfheartedly at his shoulder grinning at him. “No!”
“I think you were worried,” he accused.
Slipping out of his arms, still smiling, she told him, “Maybe a little bit. It’s only that it’s been a long time since I’ve been in a serious relationship and a lot longer since someone has treated me like I was important to them. I guess I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
His smile was understanding, easing at her fraying nerves. “We can go as slow or as fast as you want, Helen. I’m not going anywhere and there isn’t going to be another shoe to drop. You have my word on that at least.”
He leaned in then and placed a careful kiss on her lips. She melted against him with a sigh.
Everything felt okay and right in that moment.
“Henry, I’m sorry for the trouble,” Michael said, finally pulling away slightly from Helen. “Please take Ms. Willems’s things back out to the car. We’ll be dropping them off at her apartment.”
“No trouble,” Henry told them and quickly scooped up Helen’s things.
She was grateful that at least she hadn’t packed excessively. The only reason there was even a second bag was that Michael had suggested she pack several layers given the unpredictable weather in the mountain getaway they’d gone to.
“Thank you,” she told Henry, then mouthed to Michael, “Thank you.”
He kissed her cheek. “Are we doing dinner tonight?” he asked.
She was about to say yes, still lost in their kiss and the fact that Michael wasn’t going anywhere. Then she caught herself. “Oh, crap, I can’t.”
He glanced over at her, raising an eyebrow and grinning at her curse. “No? Got a hot date?”
She laughed at him. “Very funny. I don’t have a date; I’m supposed to meet with my parents, remember? Since I didn’t have a chance to stop by this weekend, I promised we’d have dinner when we got back.” She hesitated, then added, “You could come with me?”
He considered her for a long moment. “Can we plan for a dinner date with your parents next weekend?”
“We don’t have to,” she quickly added. “If you don’t want to meet with them—”
Michael stepped up to her, placing his large hands on her small shoulders. “Don’t be ridiculous. I want to meet your parents.” He paused, then added, “Again. With the understanding that I’m dating their daughter. I just figured you’d want to spend some time with them without me tonight. And it gives me a week to plan a good impression.”
She laughed. “You don’t need time to plan. You make a great impression.”
“Hm. From what I remember, you thought I was a supervillain.”
She felt her cheeks warm, but she grinned and said, “Technically, I thought you were the devil first. Supervillain came later.”
“Well, that’s a relief.”
They kissed and finally Helen managed to pull herself away from him to return to her little apartment. She unpacked her things and got cleaned up before heading to her parents’ restaurant. Her head was still swimming with thoughts of Michael when she parked around back, finding the parking lot empty.
She frowned, the action deepening when she came around the front to find a CLOSED sign pasted on the front door.
Before Helen had left, her parents had been so busy that they barely had time for her. It seemed strange that they would close early like this now. Maybe they needed a break?
“That’s odd,” she muttered out loud, knocking on the door when she found it locked. She had a key but left it at her apartment.
“We’re closed!” came a hard voice from inside that Helen recognized as her father.
“Dad?”
A second later Helen was sure she heard a curse and then the door opened to reveal her father standing there. He was a stark contrast to the last time she’d seen him. Gone were the happy lines and the color in his cheeks, the spark in his eyes. What was left looked like a sad, overworked man in an empty building.
And it was empty.
Not just that there were no patrons, but there wasn’t anything. No chairs, no tables. The register on the counter was gone as were the glasses and the condiments. Even the wall of famous guests was gone.
“What’s going on?” she asked her father.
Helen's father opened his mouth as though to answer but before he got the chance her mother stopped him, “don't you dare tell her.”
The older woman came out from the back. She wasn't wearing an apron as she usually did, and her hair was pulled up into a messy bun. There were stray strands of hair sticking out in every which way and she hadn't even bothered with makeup that day. she was wearing jeans and T shirt and it was strange to see her mother so casual and so dejected.
Helen stepped around her father to approach her mother. “What happened?”
Mrs. Willems shook her head and for a moment Helen was sure she wouldn't answer. In the end it was Helen's father who said to his wife, “She's going to find out eventually. It might as well be from us.”
Helen's mother didn't look thrilled, but she relented. “I’m so sorry honey you tried so hard.”
Longer Helen stood in the empty restaurant so unlike she had ever seen it before the more uncomfortable she became. It didn't take a genius to figure out whatever her parents had to tell her wasn't good. “Mom just tell me,” she said to her mother.
With a long sad sigh Helen's mother said simply, “We sold the restaurant.”
“What?”
Helen shook her head. This was impossible. Last week, the restaurant had been thriving! Michael had called off the project and there wasn’t a single reason that Helen could think of for her parents to be in trouble. The restaurant was theirs and it was doing better than ever!
There had to have been some mistake.
“What happened?” Helen asked her mother, desperation trickling down her spine like stale sweat. “Things were going so well!”
Mrs. Willems smiled helplessly. “You did a great job, honey. None of this is your fault.”
Helen found herself frowning. Of course, it wasn’t her fault… why would it be? Her father came to stand beside his wife, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. It was clear that Mrs. Willems was on the verge of tears, but she held it together bravely. Mr. Willems just looked… sad.
That worried Helen more than anything. If he at least looked angry that would give her hope that there was still a chance to fix things. But if he didn’t have that fire left…
“Tell me what happened,” Helen demanded. “Then we’ll fix it.”
Her parents shared a look, then finally Mr. Willems said, “After the rush on Friday night, a group of businessmen came in. They didn’t look like our normal clientele, but after everything that had been going on—” He shook his head.
Mrs. Willems filled in. “We’ve gotten so many different people lately, we figured they were just here to see what all the fuss was about.”
