The Escape

by Alice Ward

  It faded when she pulled away, her hands still on my face.

  “I’m going away next weekend with Na…” she cleared her throat, “with the, um, the other man.”

  My hands tightened on her skin. Mine. I wanted to claim her. Which wasn’t fair.

  As wonderful as these past few days had been getting to know her. As amazing as she felt in my arms. As perfect as we fit together. As much as I wanted her.

  It wouldn’t last.

  Nothing lasted.

  Except scars.

  “Can I have you today? This week? I’d like to spend more time with you, if you agree.”

  Her gaze fell, but only for a moment. “It depends.”

  I quirked up a brow. “On what?”

  “If you sign my contract.”

  I laughed, then stifled it when her head cocked to the side. “You’re serious.”

  She nodded. “Indeed I am.”

  I slid my hands down her back and rested them on her hips. “I’m willing to negotiate.”

  She blushed a little. “Well, considering I’ve yet to assemble my contract, your negotiation tactics will have to wait.”

  I thought about where my thumbs were resting low on her belly and looked down, realizing again how small she was. My thumbs nearly touched, and if I were to move them lower. Lower.

  “My eyes are up here.”

  Yes, fucking adorable.

  I met her gaze but didn’t move my hands. “So, will you be needing access to a computer for this contract?”

  “Nah. Just a piece of paper and pen.”

  “You sure? I’ve got an extra iPad.”

  She considered it. “I think I’ll go old school this time. I’m thinking a sex contract deserves some pen to paper attention.”

  I frowned. “This isn’t a sex contract, Journey. I know what I’m asking is unconventional, but it’s nothing so crass as that. I need to know that you know how things will be between us. As much as I want to fuck you so hard that we’re both raw from it, I also want your company. Our conversations. If I just wanted sex, I’d hire a prostitute.”

  Her fingers tightened in my beard. “Thank you for saying that. I was beginning to feel a little slutty.”

  I moved my thumbs in circles on her lower abdomen. “Don’t say that. I’m weary of our society placing such judgements on women who simply follow their right to enjoy many experiences.”

  “As proper as you are, you’re very openminded.”

  I laughed. “You think I’m proper?”

  She grinned. “Yeah, I keep expecting you to break out into a British accent or something.”

  “Well, would ya prefer I talked like this, cause I can if’n you be wantin’ me to.”

  She didn’t laugh like I’d expected her to at my take on Nash’s accent. Instead, she studied my face with a serious look. “No. I like how you are.”

  My hands tightened on her waist as the energy between us grew deeper, heavier. My cock pulsed against her, and I lifted my hips, pressing into her until she closed her eyes and groaned.

  “You have very big lips,” I said.

  Her eyes opened, the black of the pupils consuming the blue. “The better to…”

  Then I was tasting her, devouring and being devoured. I found her skin again under her shirt and crushed her to me, grinding her down onto my cock.

  She was so sweet.

  I loved the way her breath hitched, the little sounds she made when I lifted my hips again, grinding us together.

  A bell pinged, and the pilot announced that we were only a few minutes from landing and would be descending soon. “Please note that the seatbelt sign is now on.”

  I groaned. Journey groaned. The gods of sex surely groaned.

  “I guess I better return to my seat,” she said but made no move to get off my lap.

  Of course, as hard as I was still holding her to me, she couldn’t have moved if she wanted to. I loosened my grip through iron determination. “Yes. I think that’s wise.”

  When she was back and buckled, Steve returned to my side and collected our glasses. I appreciated that he’d left us alone during the flight. He’d be getting a bonus.

  As the ground grew nearer, Journey was plastered to the glass again, and I was able to experience her joy as we approached the runway.

  She whipped around to face me, her eyes big. “We’re almost there.”

  Then she was looking out again and began narrating what she saw. “I see the airport. Oh, look at all those cars.” And on and on.

  I was smiling when the wheels touched down and she squealed in delight. “We made it!”

  “Did you fear we wouldn’t?”

  She faced me again. “Well, you never know. As many times as you’ve had reason to pity me this week, adding you having to drag me from a burning pile of wreckage isn’t exactly outside the scope of possibilities.”

  I pushed her hair back from her face. “I don’t pity you. I respect you. Like you. Like being around you.”

  “And you want me,” she finished. “After your meeting and our signatures on the dotted line.” She frowned. “Where is the meeting anyway? Where will I be during it?” She patted the leather. “Here?”

  I took her hand and lifted it to my lips. “No. I have a surprise for you.”

  She smiled. “You do? What is it? Where is it? Gimme, gimme, please please please.”

  Even though I could tell she was playing with me, I remained serious. “Patience, my dear.”

  Her gaze grew wistful. “A moment of patience in a moment of anger saves a thousand moments of regret.”

  I recognized the quote. “Ali ibn Abi Talib.”

  “Yes, brought to you through the spirit of Mee-maw. She said that to Jazzy and me often. She said a lot of things to Jazzy and me often. She was so wise. So good.”

  “She passed that goodness on to you both.”

  Her eyes clouded. “Well, it skipped a generation with our mother, I’m afraid.”

  “Do you remember much about your mother?”

  Her eyes clouded further, and I regretted the question. “Not much. I’d gotten very good at “going away” as Mee-maw called it. Kind of going into my own space and not seeing or hearing anything around me.”

  I nodded. “I understand that space.”

  Her eyes fell to my scar. “You do?”

  My hand itched to touch the smooth line. I traced her lifeline with my finger instead. “Yes. I do.”

  A bell pinged, and Journey looked out of the window again. “We’re here.”

  I continued to trace her lifeline, not wanting to let her go.

  But I would.

  Because I had to.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Journey

  My eyes rolled back in my head as fingers moved through my hair and massaged my scalp.

  This was heaven.

  Other fingers massaged my feet. Others were on my back.

  I moaned, not caring how loud the sound was. My sigh was equally loud when the fingers in my hair found my neck.

  I attempted to think, attempted to wonder which set of hands were best. But it was no use. Each were pushing me into complete and utter bliss.

  I hissed as hot stones were placed along my spine, but the initial burn transformed into a muscle melting warmth.

  A massage.

  Grant had gifted me my first ever professional massage, and it was probably a mistake because I was going to be nothing more than a wet noodle when these people were finished with me.

  When I told him that I’d have my own contract for him to sign, I thought I’d have a few hours to figure it out. Then, when he dropped me off at this luxury spa, I still thought my mind would be focused on the contracts, both his and mine.

  But… no.

  It.

  Wasn’t.

  I was being seduced. Not by a man, or even men, but by three women who were forcing all the stress and worry from every cell of my body. The oil they used smelled delicious enough to eat,
and the music playing in the background was something I could listen to forever on repeat.

  And this wasn’t all.

  Before leaving for his meeting, Grant told me that I’d also receive the “works,” which turned out to be this massage, a deep conditioning hair treatment, facial, manicure and pedicure. I’d be offered the services of a stylist and makeup artist afterward if I wished.

  Um. Yeah. I wished.

  I usually trimmed my own hair. Since it was all one length it didn’t take much skill to chop the ends off. And I loved watching makeup transformations, although I wouldn’t want to go as far as having false eyelashes. To me, they looked like spiders crawling across a woman’s face and would probably drive me to distraction. And why in the hell did women put a shiny spotlight on the tips of their noses? Seriously… the nose was the first thing they wanted people to notice about them?

  I had fun looking through all the polish selections and settled on a pale, taupey looking pink that went great with my skin. It was a little embarrassing when the woman at my feet was practically sweating as she sawed my calluses off, and I was glad when someone put cucumbers on my eyes so I wouldn’t have to watch the dried skin flake to the floor.

  The hairstylist nearly scared me to death when he started flipping my hair in all directions, using what looked like two scalpels to “shape the ends.” Weren’t scissors supposed to do that? All in all, he took about four needed inches off the length, leaving it to hang at the bottom of my shoulder blades

  But I was handed a glass of champagne and decided to focus on it instead of the man wielding deadly instruments around my body. To distract myself, I turned my thoughts fully back on the contract. Why did I even tell Grant that I wanted one of my own?

  Now that I wasn’t straddling his lap and we weren’t in that teasing give and take space that felt so comfortable at the time, I didn’t know.

  But I should. I should know what I wanted or didn’t want in a relationship, sexual or otherwise. I should know what I was willing to do or try.

  But Grant was so far out of my league, and I didn’t have enough experience to even understand all the options available to me. For me, gathering the courage to move to his lap was about as seductive as I could think to be.

  It wasn’t that I didn’t understand the concept of romance. I’d watched movies and read romance novels, of course. But in those, the guys had twelve-inch penises and wielded them like a velvet clad sword, bringing a mixture of pain and pleasure to the heroine with his every touch, leaving her in orgasmic bliss every fifteen seconds.

  Was that even close to realistic?

  I thought about the way I felt when Nash’s tongue was… there. That had been realistic for sure.

  Then I thought about Grant’s hand on my skin, sliding up and down my back, the pure pleasure that surged when he looked at me with those dark eyes, especially when his thumbs had been on my belly and moved lower. I’d been close to some orgasmic explosion just from that. So, maybe it could be that good.

  Okay, so I knew what I did want. Now, what didn’t I want?

  I didn’t want to be hurt, physically or emotionally. Grant could agree to the first, but how could he promise the second? I didn’t think most people woke up in the morning rubbing their hands together while trying to decide how to emotionally destroy the people in their lives.

  Well, Miss Dorothy from the nursing home probably did. But I hoped most others had better things to do than that crochety old woman.

  So… what did I want Grant to agree to?

  Even as makeup was being applied to my face and my hair blown out, looking more voluminous than I believed possible for the stick straight strands, I still wasn’t sure what to say and had nearly come to the conclusion that I wouldn’t do anything. I would just tell him that I’d been joking about having a contract for him to sign, then I’d just scrawl my signature to his and jump his bones.

  “What’s wrong, honey?”

  I was pulled from my thoughts by the man sweeping blush along my cheeks. I snorted. “Man problems.”

  Jay waved his gold-tipped fingers in front of his face and batted the golden lashes that I could never pull off but looked fabulous on him. “Welcome to the club, honey. Tell me all about it.”

  He looked so sincere with the offer that I almost spilled all of my worries out to him in that moment. But I couldn’t do that. I was a nobody, but Grant would be someone these people knew, and I didn’t think he’d appreciate me talking about our possible arrangement with strangers.

  Inspiration hit, and I thought of Jasmine. She too was in a two-man dilemma. It wasn’t exactly the same, but…

  “My sister has two men interested in her, but only for a physical relationship. She likes them both very much and is worried that she’s making a mistake by dating them both.”

  Jay waited, as if he expected me to say more. When I didn’t, he frowned. “Honey, forgive me if I’m being rude, but… what’s the problem?”

  I blinked at him, and the ladies in the seats next to me nodded in agreement. “I agree. She’s just dating like a man,” one of them said. “Tell her to enjoy it.” She appeared to be in her fifties but looked younger when she smiled. “Trust me. Those types of opportunities don’t come around often. She should grab it with both hands.”

  The woman applying her makeup agreed. “It’s called dating. Until two people both agree that they’re exclusive, they can each do anything they want.”

  “Feel better about your… um, sister?” He winked at me.

  I blushed, knowing he’d seen right through me. “Yes, thank you for the advice.”

  “Pucker up, honey,” Jay said and winked at me again. I did, and he applied what felt like layer upon layer of lipstick.

  “I’m afraid to move my mouth,” I said when he was finished. “And why do my lips feel like they’re on fire?”

  “That’s just the cinnamon and menthol in the lip plumper I used to make them even fuller, and believe me, when you get a glimpse of your fine self, you won’t want to ever move your mouth again.”

  The women beside me ooh’d and aah’d, and I couldn’t wait to see how I looked for myself.

  “Ready to be stunned and amazed?” Jay asked, clapping his hands together.

  I thought of Jazzy and chanted, “Turn that chair.”

  When he did, I was stunned. I lifted a hand to make sure the person staring back at me was me.

  A bouncy mane of hair framed a face I didn’t recognize. I opened my mouth, closed it. The girl in the mirror opened and closed hers too. It was really me. How did my lips get so big?

  “I look so…” I wasn’t sure of the best word, so I settled on, “glamorous.”

  Jay clapped his hands together again. “I knew you’d love it. And with your eyes and cheekbones, nothing I could do would ever be wrong. You are stunning.”

  Was this why Grant had brought me here? Was it his covert way to make me look like I was part of his circle? To make me look like someone worthy of being on his arm?

  A basket was set on my lap. “Tada,” Jay cried. “Mr. Sommerfield requested that we provide you with items we used, so you could recreate the look.” He lowered his voice and gave me a sly look. “I may or may not have added a few extra things, but I know you’ll love them. Just go to my YouTube channel and you can watch my demonstrations. You’ll get the techniques down in no time.”

  I looked at my eighteen-dollar shorts and my twenty-seven-dollar blouse. Was he going to buy me a new outfit too?

  Would I be able to recognize myself if he did?

  Would I want to?

  I smiled at Jay. “Thank you so much for everything. It’s been a pleasure meeting you.”

  He pulled me into a hug. “You too, honey. Now, you go knock those men’s socks off.”

  I cleared my throat. “You mean, my sister.”

  He winked, the gold glitter on his eyes catching the light. “Sure, honey. Tell your sister to have fun. Enjoy.” He primped my hair around my s
houlders. “Relax and enjoy. No self judgements. Live life in a way that makes you… her… smile.”

  Tears burned the backs of my eyes. “Thank you, Jay.”

  A bell rang, and Jay looked over my shoulder. He bobbed his eyebrows at me. “He’s here.”

  My heart began to pound in my chest as I stood from the seat, the basket in my arms. All the work the massage therapists had done disappeared as the muscles in my shoulders drew up into a knot.

  Grant’s eyes swept across the room, moved past me, then snapped back. His jaw sagged as his eyes widened. I would have laughed had I not been so nervous.

  Was this the me he wanted?

  I twirled, actually loving how my hair swirled around me then settled softly around my shoulders. “Well, I’ve been pummeled and polished. Does that mean I’m a diamond now?”

  His dark eyes swept over my face, and I had trouble reading his expression. “You’ve always been a diamond, Journey.” He cleared his throat and smiled, leaning close to whisper near my ear. “What big lips you have. And eyebrows. And eyelashes. And hair.”

  Before I could reply, he stepped over to the desk and signed what I thought must be a charge slip. I squinted but couldn’t see the amount, but I couldn’t help notice the clerk’s eyes grow wide. He must have left a helluva tip. Did that mean he approved of this new me? Liked her better?

  When he took the basket from my arms and placed a warm hand on my back, I expected him to lead me to the long black car that had greeted us at the airport. Instead, he stopped by a shiny red convertible and opened the door, placing the basket in the back.

  “Wow. Is this yours?”

  He grinned. “No, it’s a rental for the day. Thought we’d have some fun.” As I watched, he shrugged out of his jacket, then loosened his tie.

  When he didn’t remove it completely, I stepped toward him. “Let me.”

  Pulling, I loosened the tie further before dragging it over his head. Not satisfied, I unbuttoned the top button of his snowy white shirt, then the sleeves, rolling them up to his elbows.

  “There.”

  It was the most casual I’d seen him, and it changed his appearance a great deal. He looked relaxed now. Even younger.

  I couldn’t help but notice that he’d glammed me up while I’d glammed him down.