Pulse 2 (Pulse Series)

by Rhea Wilde

  I closed my eyes tight and sealed my mouth shut. I tightened every muscle in my body, desperate to get over the edge.

  Almost…

  Rafael pushed me over. I held my breath for a brief second before groaning a sigh of ecstasy that echoed through the room. My moans were stuttered as the orgasm ravaged my body. I tightened my grip on the sheets underneath me. My legs vibrated against his body. I writhed and spasmed against the bed as the waves from my climax shot through me. He pinned me down onto the mattress and I moved like I was helplessly trying to escape.

  My body collapsed against the mattress as my orgasm subsided. But Rafael wasn’t finished. He pounded me furiously to let me know how bad he wanted to join me in my climax. I looked down and watched him. His body glistened with sweat. His muscles tensed. He gripped both of my legs and held them in the air as he continued to drive himself into me.

  He stared hard at me. Our eyes locked upon another. I was doing everything I could to will him into his orgasm. I wanted him to come deep inside of me. I wanted every last drop.

  With a few hard pumps, his body tightened as he started to come. He remained staring hard at me, a slow and controlled breath emitting from between his lips. His body jerked in a steady rhythm. Each time he pushed into me, he filled me with another line of his seed. I tightened myself around him and milked him for every last drop.

  When he pulled out of me, there was a loud smacking sound of our fluids. My legs collapsed onto the mattress and Rafael laid next to me. I leaned over and kissed him on the lips then rested my head upon his chest. I let out a contented sigh as I tried to catch my breath. The sound of Rafael’s heart beating thumped against my ear as his chest rose and fell.

  “We should have gone out with Wesley and Travis,” I said to him.

  “Why is that?”

  “It’s still early. We have the rest of the night to ourselves. Now what are we going to do?”

  “I can think of something.”

  “I know you can,” I said as I giggled. “But I’m talking about in-between… you know…”

  I turned my head and looked up at him. Rafael shifted his eyes up to the ceiling as if he was searching for something.

  “What are you thinking about?” I asked him.

  “You’re right,” he replied. “We should do something. And I’ve got just the thing.”

  Chapter 24

  When Rafael and I had sex, I didn’t have the energy for anything else afterward. Usually, I would just lay around and try to regain my strength. Sometimes we would sleep. Sometimes we would lie around and wait until it was that time again. He had a sexual energy that was immeasurable. Of course, I did everything I could to match it. I never enjoyed not being with Rafael. But now that we were together without having to hide it from anybody else, it was different. I felt like I was even more relaxed.

  I sat there in the hot tub just across from him. Just like the rest of the suite, the tub was more luxurious than your standard fare. It was cushioned so that it was comfortable to sit in. The massaging jets blew water against my muscles in a way that was enjoyable as well as therapeutic. I looked across the bubbles at Rafael as I took a sip from a glass of champagne.

  “How come we never used the tub before?” I asked him.

  “Because we usually just shower together. Is this better?”

  “I enjoy the showers. But this is different. It’s… relaxing.”

  “That’s the point.”

  He laughed at me and I smiled back at him.

  “I know,” I said. “I know. I know. But it feels like a new experience. Being here with you… and just sitting in the water. I just wish I could have done this with you in the Pacific…”

  I remembered everything that happened in Hawaii. Rafael knew what I was thinking and he slowly started nodding his head.

  “I did everything I could to see you,” he said.

  “I know you did.”

  “I was busy. And when I wasn’t, I couldn’t sneak around with anybody catching me. If I disappeared for more than a few minutes, people would be looking for me. If they caught me in your room…”

  “They caught us anyway.”

  “Yeah. But you wanted to be caught. That’s the difference.”

  We shared another laugh. As I thought about what I did, all of the memories came back to me.

  “I remember it,” I said. “I remember it with perfect clarity. The looks on their faces. You should have seen them.”

  “I remember, Alice,” he said as he smiled. “I was there.”

  “I know,” I said as I began to laugh. “But none of them compared to yours. You were…”

  “Furious. I was paralyzed. I didn’t know what to do. It was the most embarrassing thing I’d ever had done to me.”

  “Yeah, it’s good to hear that one of my kisses made you feel that bad.”

  “I didn’t mean it in that way. It was just so unexpected. But I’m glad you did it. These emotions I had inside of me… They were just bottled up. After dealing with all of the shareholders and talking with the board, I finally had a moment to sort out my feelings. I know that you needed to do it. But I needed it even worse. If you didn’t do something, I would have eventually.”

  “Yeah…”

  I placed the glass of champagne down next to me then looked out through the window. The city was alive like it usually was on a Friday night. We were high up in a penthouse suite so everything looked tiny, even some of the other buildings. I felt like I was on top of the world.

  “I’m still sorry about what I did,” I said. “Wesley and Travis didn’t deserve to be punished like me. I robbed them of a rare opportunity.”

  “Maybe. But it’s not your fault, Alice. It was mine.”

  I shook my head.

  “What?” I asked. “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m the one who hired you,” he said. “I never should have done it. I remember when you stepped inside of my office and I saw you. I thought that I could make it work and separate you from the woman I was sleeping with. It was foolish of me to think that. Everything you did just made me realize that you were more than the woman I met in the club that night.

  “So, don’t blame yourself for what happened to Wesley and Travis. I’m the one who put them in this position. All you did was… exactly what I wanted you to do. I just didn’t realize it until now. This is for the best.”

  “Do you really think that? Do you really think Wesley and Travis are okay with this?”

  “I spoke to them at dinner before you arrived. They understood the situation completely. Wesley was just as relieved as he seemed. And Travis was never 100-percent confident in my judgment. I’m probably the only one who believed they were capable. People think I’m crazy because of it.”

  I looked out into the city as I listened to everything Rafael said to me. There was nothing he could say to stop me from regretting everything. I just couldn’t shake the guilt away.

  As I enjoyed the comforts of the warm water, Rafael moved across toward me and leaned up close to me. He kissed me on the cheek as he ran his hand along my back. He slowly massaged my skin, trailing his fingers against me underneath the water. I sighed with contentedness, still thinking about all of the consequences.

  “On the last night of the conference, after the last meeting, Cheryl invited me up to her room.”

  I swallowed anxiously. I didn’t even consider the details of what Rafael did or didn’t do. Part of the reason I never asked him was because of how close I got with Dante.

  “What happened?” I asked.

  “She came onto me. Just like she always did. She said I’d been acting strange. It wasn’t like the usual conferences when we would spend time together. So, she pulled me away from everybody else and finally got me alone. She dropped her clothes and showed me everything. She’s…”

  “Remarkable. I saw her on the beach.”

  “Yeah,” he said as he chuckled. “She kissed me, Alice.”

 
My eyes remained locked upon the view but I was hanging on every word. I didn’t want to hear what he was about to tell me. I didn’t want to hear the intimate details of that night.

  “But something happened,” he said. “It wasn’t the same. It felt wrong.”

  I turned and looked at him. He stared into my eyes and I could see something deep inside of him.

  “What happened?” I asked.

  “I… didn’t enjoy it. Because all I could think about was you. I wanted her to be you. I refused her and said that I just wanted to be friends.”

  “She must have been pissed.”

  “She was. It was just a fling. She just didn’t understand what harm one night could do. But I did…”

  I wanted to laugh. Even though it didn’t matter, I knew that I would be hurt if he had done something with her. I couldn’t deny how happy I felt inside. I leaned over and kissed him on the lips, wrapping my hands around his face. Then I pulled my head away from him and stared deep into his eyes.

  “I had a similar moment,” I said jokingly. “I—”

  “Whatever you did, it doesn’t matter, Alice. Our relationship, whatever it is, it’s not the same as it was back then. I don’t care about what happened in the past. All I care about is what’s going to happen.”

  “What is going to happen between us, Rafael?”

  “I don’t know. I just know that I want to be with you and see where it takes us. No promises. No guarantees. This is what the board wanted for me. It wasn’t just a business decision. They also wanted me to have the freedom to be the man who’s here with you now. I need to find myself. I can only hope that you’ll be there with me.”

  I nodded and kissed him again. I couldn’t ask for anything more at this point. He had chosen me just like I had hoped he would. My feelings for him had grown more and more complicated ever since I’d known him. We had to give it time. Rafael could either be everything I wanted him to be or an illusion like all of the other men in my past.

  He kissed me passionately in the middle of the hot tub. I reached down underneath the water and searched for his length. His hands caressed my body. I quickly gave-up on trying to sort out my emotions. The desire I had for him returned. And now I had the energy I needed to act upon it.

  Chapter 25

  Because I was given a job in the building that was more appropriate for an intern, I no longer had to worry about taking my work home with me. When my job was done, I had the rest of the day all to myself. And just like it was when I was in college, my weekends were completely free.

  Rafael and I set another date for the following night. But it was in a different restaurant and Wesley and Travis were not there. It was the first time I’d ever been out alone with him without the pretense of business lingering over us. It was a real date.

  I sat at the table and sorted through the messages on my phone. Danica was asking me if I wanted to go out tonight. I told her everything that happened, so she knew that I had more free time to myself because work was less demanding. I giggled as I sorted through all of my friend’s messages.

  “What’s so funny?” Rafael asked me.

  “What?” I said as I looked up at him. “It’s my friend. She… wants to go out tonight. When I told her where I was, she got upset that I didn’t invite her. I can just picture her face right now.”

  “Is she mad? Maybe you should go out with her tonight.”

  “She’ll be fine. I spend enough time with her.”

  “Still, I think it would be nice to meet her. I haven’t met any of your friends.”

  “I can say the same about you.”

  “You have met my friends. They’re the men in the boardroom. The executives in Hawaii.”

  “You definitely need to get out more.”

  “Well, your friend is offering us a chance to go out tonight?”

  Rafael smiled at me and I saw that he was serious. He waited for my response. I bit the corner of my bottom lip as I considered his proposal.

  “What do I tell her?” I asked. “What am I supposed to say to her?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, when I introduce you to her. Do I say ‘hey, this is my boss’ or…”

  I paused as my words trailed off. Rafael reached across the table and held his hand out to me. I dropped my hand into his palm as he stared into my eyes.

  “That’s something I wanted to talk to you about, actually.”

  “Oh?” I said, my curiosity piqued.

  “Yes… I was thinking today. I was trying to figure out how to say it exactly…”

  “Rafael?”

  He took his hand away from me then reached into his suit jacket. He pulled something out and placed it down in front of me. It was a small box. I looked down at it, my mouth half-open in amazement.

  “What is this?” I asked him.

  “I got you something.”

  “It’s not a ring, is it?”

  “No, I don’t think we’re at that point yet, Alice,” he said as he chuckled.

  “What is it?”

  It was larger than a ring box, so I knew that wasn’t it. I held the box in my hand. Rafael looked at me with a huge grin on his face.

  “What are you doing?” he said. “Are you trying to weigh it?”

  “Yes,” I said as I laughed.

  “Oh, your hands are scales now?”

  “Yes.”

  “Just open it.”

  “All right, all right…”

  I grabbed the top of the box and popped it open. I looked down at it and my mouth dropped even lower.

  “Are… these real?”

  “One-hundred percent.”

  “How much did it cost you?”

  “That doesn’t matter. I didn’t put it on the company credit card.”

  “Right…”

  He chuckled at me as I tried to recover from my astonishment. It was a bracelet lined with diamonds. Along the center of it, there were large emeralds that sparkled just as bright. The light from the chandeliers above shined off of the jewels and reflected in every direction.

  “Do you like it?” he asked.

  “It’s… a little gaudy for someone like me. People can see me from a mile away.”

  “That’s the point. I want people to see it. I want them to know that you’re… with me. Alice… I’m not the man I used to be. I’m not your boss. I don’t even have a job. But whatever it is that I am, I want you to be there with me.”

  “I want to be with you, too. You didn’t have to get something like this for me though.”

  “This is part of it. I have money. This is the life that you’re going to live. Because that’s what I want for you. If you can’t handle it…”

  I raised one of my eyebrows at him. It didn’t take me very long to consider his proposal.

  “I guess I can get used to this,” I said as I smirked.

  “Good.”

  He reached forward and pulled the bracelet from its box. Then he held my hand as he snapped it around my wrist. The diamonds and emeralds shined on my wrist. I’d never worn anything that stood out so much. Rafael held both of my hands and we stared at one another across the table.

  “I guess that makes it official then,” I asked.

  “That’s right. So, when you introduce me to your friend you can tell her that…”

  “…You’re my boyfriend. You’re just Rafael.”

  He pulled both of my hands up and kissed me softly on my knuckles. I blushed in embarrassment as I noticed some of the other people looking at us. But I wasn’t embarrassed enough to pull my hand away completely. I just let my hands rest in his and let another sigh escape from my lips. We sat there and a man in a suit walked up to the both of us.

  “Mr. Barnett,” he said to Rafael. “Thank you for joining us this evening.”

  “Of course. It’s always a pleasure to be here.”

  “The pleasure is mine. And who is this lovely young woman? Your wife?”

  I blushed as he s
aid it. I pulled my hands from Rafael and shook my head.

  “This is my girlfriend, Alice,” Rafael said. “Alice, this is Charles. He owns this restaurant.”

  “Rafael has been coming here for a long time. I’ve never seen him in the presence of such a lovely young woman. I hope that I’ll be seeing more of you.”

  “I hope to be here,” I said to him.

  “I’ll have the waiter take care of you shortly,” Charles said. “Thank you again for coming, Mr. Barnett.”

  Charles bowed his head to the both of us then excused himself. I watched the man walk away, everything he just said still lingering with me.

  “Are you all right?” Rafael asked me.

  “Yes, of course. I was just thinking about what he said.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He called me your wife.”

  “He did.”

  “What do you think about that, Rafael?” I said as I turned back toward him.

  We stared at one another as I waited for his response. Rafael immediately smiled at me and softly shook his head.

  “Let’s just go real slow, Alice. Are you in a hurry?”

  “No… No, I’m not.”

  “I’m not either. Let’s just enjoy things as they are now. Let’s just… be.”

  I nodded to him, half-disappointed he didn’t want to push our relationship any further.

  “That first night I met you,” he said. “Did you think that we would ever get to this point?”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  “Me neither. But if things keep going like this, who knows where we’ll be.”

  As I sat there, it felt like we were the only ones in the restaurant. I was alone with him at the dinner table. Our relationship had changed so much over the past three weeks. But there was still so much more to do and so much further to go. The possibilities for our future were endless. I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next.

  Author’s Note

  Thank you for taking the time to read the continuation of Alice and Rafael’s romance in Pulse 2. Loved it? Hated it? Leave a review and let me know what you think! See more of my work on Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/author/rheawilde