“Yeah, he’s got this bad boy thing going for him, but he’s actually a nice guy. I think you two will get along. And I won’t hate having him around. It’s nice to have someone to talk football with, plus he lives in town, so that’s a plus.”
“You’re selling him to me?” I laughed.
“Maybe a little. I think you need him in your life. I’m certainly not that manly of a man.” He laughed and jiggled his tiny belly.
Stanley wasn’t fat by any means. He was very lean and in shape; he just happened to have a cute little soft tummy. I liked his stomach, though. I liked the softness of his personality, too. But it was reassuring to know that he approved of Marcus, and Marcus seemed to like him as well.
It was like the two of them were reading my mind and setting the tone for what was to come. Plus, Marcus knew my feet were hurting and made sure Stanley was there to take care of me. I really couldn’t even argue with him; I liked Marcus and was giddy over the idea of him staying around in my life.
Chapter 15
“So will you be staying the night in Kansas City?” I asked Marcus as we walked out of the gallery with Stanley.
“Hmm, I’m not sure. I would need a hotel room and a hot shower. Do you happen to know anywhere I could find those two things?”
“Well, you two have a fun night. I have to head back to town,” Stanley quickly interjected. “It was nice talking with you more tonight, Marcus. I hope we see more of you around.”
“I’m glad Isabella has you in her life when I’m not around. I feel like you really care about her, and that’s important to me,” Marcus said as the two men got serious for a moment.
“I do care about her.”
“Great, that makes two of us,” Marcus said and then pulled Stanley in for a man-hug. “Have a good night my man. Drive safely.”
“Goodnight you two,” Stanley said before walking away.
There was sweetness in how Marcus had interacted with Stanley. It surprised me that Marcus hadn’t been part of a multiple relationship like this before because he really seemed at ease with everything. Marcus was calm and collected with both of the other guys, and that was refreshing.
“I happen to have a very nice hotel room; I guess you could take a shower and sleep on the couch.” I winked at Marcus.
I grabbed a hold of his arm and held onto him as we walked toward the Marriott hotel. It was a beautiful evening with the stars shining throughout the sky. I couldn’t have asked for a better night or a better first gallery show.
We walked into the hotel like a young couple in love. Marcus was telling me something funny about a man at the party, and I was giggling and laid my head on his shoulder. The moment felt so naturally and comfortable, I filed it away in my memories. My heart felt big, and I really was excited to be getting to know Marcus in this new environment.
As we entered the elevator, a young teenage couple also entered. The boy reached out and grabbed the hand of the girl, and they both laughed. It was sweet, and both Marcus and I looked at each other. To be that young and innocent again would be something special for sure. I could still remember how quickly I had fallen in love back then and how hard it was all at the same time. When you are that young, you just don’t understand what true love really is.
The young couple got out of the elevator, and Marcus quickly pulled me up against him and started to kiss me.
I loved the taste of his tongue. It was a combination of red wine and chocolate from the hors d’oeuvres at the party. My tongue moved gently with his as his hands slid up and down my back in a slow and deliberate motion.
When the elevator stopped on our floor, he grabbed my hand and pulled me into the hallway where he continued to hold me close to him and kiss me.
I felt like a teenager standing in the hallway of the hotel making out. It was such a spontaneous and fun moment.
Our lips continued to explore one another, and my body urged him to come closer and closer. I fumbled to find my room key while trying to keep my lips locked with his but finally had to look through my purse.
“What room?” Marcus asked.
“1205,” I said as Marcus grabbed the key card with one hand and me with the other.
He ran down the hallway pulling me behind him and made quick work of the lock for the door. With one fast motion, he had the door open and both of us inside the room. He started to unzip my dress, and it fell to the ground. I stood there totally naked as he looked at me.
The desire in his eyes was intense, and I couldn’t look away, although I felt embarrassed to be standing in front of him totally exposed.
“Do you even know how beautiful you are?”
Marcus moved toward me and held my face as he kissed me gently. His burst of energy seemed to have died off, and he was back to being extremely gentle and sweet. I enjoyed this sweet side of him very much. It was such a contrast to his large muscular body and tough exterior.
I reached up and took his suit jacket off and then started working on the buttons on his dress shirt. The material seemed very expensive and not like anything I could remember feeling before. The suit was definitely tailored and possibly the dress shirt as well; they all fit him perfectly.
Slowly I moved my hands down to his belt and pulled it off. I could feel his hips thrust toward me in desire. He wanted me to go farther; he wanted me to unzip his pants. Instead, I let my hand rub up against his cock through the outside of his pants.
His hips moved in motion with my hand, and he wanted my hand on him. I could feel him urging me to pull his cock out.
I pulled him out, quickly slid down to my knees, and took him into my mouth. His moan of pleasure urged me to take him deeper inside of me. My mouth moved in rhythm with his hip motion as I reached up and let my hand help with the stroking of his cock. My lips and hand moved deep down his shaft and then all the way back up to the tip.
Slowly and deliberately I used pressure and motion to bring him close to climax. So close that I could feel the tiny bit of pre-excitement on my tongue. It gave me the warning to stop stroking him and let his body calm down.
He didn’t like that at all. Marcus grabbed me and pulled me up so I was standing. His lips met mine in a harsh thrust of desire, and I knew he wanted to fuck me. I could feel his urge to turn me over the bed and just slide inside. But he didn’t.
His kissing slowed down to a more intimate speed, and he sat down on the bed, pulling me down with him.
Marcus let his hands move and explore the touch of my body while his lips continued to play with mine. One of his hands came up and slid my nipple between his fingers. I let out a moan of agreement with his move; I loved the feeling of his hands on my body. Anywhere on my body was just what I needed.
He didn’t muffle my moans this time and seemed to press me to moan more as his fingers rolled and twisted my nipple between the tips.
I lay back on the bed and tried to pull him on top of me. I wanted to feel him thrusting inside of me. I wanted to feel the explosion of ecstasy, but he would not give it to me. Instead, he relished the ability to build up my excitement.
His hands were gentle and moved with a light touch over my skin. I could feel goose bumps form as he was intent on making my pleasure last as long as possible.
We spent over an hour kissing and fondling each other before Marcus mounted me and slid inside. Our bodies were sweaty from our makeout session, and it brought another level of excitement to the evening, at least for me it did. I loved feeling his muscles under a layer of sweat. It felt good to know even a man in such great shape could be made to sweat from touching my body.
As our bodies moved in motion with each other, I felt a closer connection to Marcus than I had even a few days before. I was starting to have feelings for him, and that wasn’t a good thing; I really knew nothing about him.
We both collapsed from orgasmic pleasure, I felt the exhaustion of the night overwhelm me. It only took a moment, and I had fallen asleep, tucked close up against Marcus and feeling happier than I ha
d in months.
***
The next morning, I was awoken by the hotel phone ringing. It startled me and took me a few seconds to figure out where I was. I let my hand slide across the bed and felt Marcus, and that helped me figure out where I was.
“Isabella, you sold all of your photos!” Sarah said as loud as I think she could have possibly said it.
“What? All of them, there is no way?” I said as I sat up in the bed. “I can’t believe that. I’ve never heard of anything like this happening. Are you sure?”
“Yep, you did. And there was a bidding war over the picture from the woods. It sold for over twenty thousand dollars.”
“Holy shit!” I stood up and went to the hotel window. “Really Sarah? I can’t believe this. I’m speechless.”
“Yeah, everyone was asking when you will have another show and if you have any other work. Do you have other photos ready?”
“Hell no! I don’t have anything else ready. I mean I have millions of photos, but it took me months just to find those pictures. I can go through my stuff and see if there is anything else I like. I mean I can have another show. But it will take me a few months at least,” I said almost out of breath with excitement.
“That would be great. I’d love to do another show with you whenever you are ready. I’m getting a check cut for you now with all the funds that have already cleared. You’ll get a much larger check in about two weeks with the remaining amount. Minus our commission, of course.”
“Thank you so much for organizing this and putting it together. You did amazing. I wouldn’t have sold all of those photos if it wasn’t for your advertising and bringing everyone into the event. You earned that commission for sure.”
“Have a great day, Isabella, and go out and celebrate. You’re a big hit. I have a feeling this is only the beginning for you.”
“Thanks again Sarah,” I said as I hung up.
I stood at the window looking over Kansas City. It was amazing. I couldn’t believe I had sold all my photos. I couldn’t believe how much money they had sold for. It was like a dream come true. A dream that I had not dared to actually let myself dream of before that very moment.
My life had never been a fairy tale, and that was alright with me. I knew at a very young age that we all get treated differently in life, and I wasn’t going to let that take away from me having a happy life.
“You do know you’re naked standing in front of a window right?” Marcus said as he started to stir in the bed.
“Well, Kansas City will just have to deal with my nakedness.”
“I don’t think anyone will mind. So that was good news about your show?”
“Yes, great news. I sold everything. Can you believe that?”
“Yes.”
He said it so quickly and so confidently that I couldn’t help hugging him. It felt so great to have someone to share that moment with. It also felt really good to be around someone who had such an intense ability to calm me.
For as long as I can remember, I have had an anxiety disorder. This gets in the way a lot of times and makes things very difficult for me. Often times I cannot even shop at the grocery store. Having a boyfriend around helped calm me down in those situations. Having several in my home made me confident I would always have someone to go out and enjoy situations with. It was just one of the reasons that I’d adapted to my new lifestyle and really felt at ease with it.
“I just can’t believe it. One of the pictures went for over twenty thousand dollars. That is so insane to me.”
“Which one?”
“The one of the moon through the woods. It was the one I took the night you had to carry me home.” I laughed.
I didn’t add that it was also the night that he carried me up the stairs to my bedroom. I didn’t add that it was the first night I had been with a man since losing Michael. I also didn’t add that the night was a memory that was still firmly embedded in my mind.
“Hmmm, I remember that night very well,” Marcus said as he kissed me.
He headed over to the phone and stood there naked while he dialed a number. It was impossible not to enjoy watching his body. Especially while he was standing there naked in front of me. I knew he had a lot of muscles, but seeing him in all of his glory just made me want to try something new.
“Yes, we are in room 1205. We need strawberries and champagne, please.”
“What? It’s eight o’clock in the morning. Are you crazy?” I said as I grabbed a T-shirt from my suitcase and a pair of shorts and put them on.
“It’s never too early to have a celebration. But yes, I could possibly be crazy.”
His smile hid something very interesting, and I loved how he winked right after saying the word crazy. I certainly didn’t think he was crazy, but I did really want to know more about him. There had to be more to him than a ripped muscular body that always rescued me from situations.
“Well, I’m only going to have one glass; I want to get home and get to my own bed this afternoon. I’m exhausted. I don’t think I’m going to stay in town any longer. Someone kept me up most of the night.” I jokingly pushed Marcus toward the wall.
“Who would do that? For sure must have been a crazy man.” Marcus winked at me again.
He pulled me close to him, and I let my head rest on his chest. Feeling his arms wrapped around me made me feel so safe. Like no one and nothing in the entire world could ever harm me. I liked that feeling, and I liked Marcus’s arms wrapped around me.
When the champagne came, Marcus popped the cork and poured us a couple of glasses. It was the first time I had actually tasted champagne, and it was delicious. I didn’t stop at one glass and was soon lying in bed drinking my third or fourth glass and eating a giant strawberry with Marcus sitting right next to me.
It was by far one of the best celebrations I had ever had. The simplicity of it made it perfect. Having Marcus there made it perfect. Knowing that Marcus was okay with my lifestyle just added to the perfection. I couldn’t have been happier than I was at that very moment.
Luckily, Marcus had only one glass of champagne and was able to drive us around Kansas City on a little sightseeing tour while I relaxed before heading back home. It was like a first date for us. Sort of backwards to have a date with someone after you were already sleeping with them, but then again, I wasn’t someone who liked to follow the norms.
We went downtown and even drove past the Royals baseball stadium. I wasn’t a particularly big fan of baseball, but it was neat to see the big stadium.
Around five in the evening, we went back to the hotel to gather our things and head home for the night. I felt comfortable with driving by then, and I really did want to sleep in my own bed. I wanted Marcus to sleep with me in that bed too, but I would have to work on that idea when we got back to Bain.
Chapter 16
I followed Marcus for the whole drive back to town, and I felt that he was purposely driving slow. Otherwise, he drove like an old lady, and I’d seen him drive like a normal person already. I had always been a slower driver, but since we were just getting started, I would have driven faster to keep up with him.
After following him to the airport the other day, though, I knew he typically was not so cautious and probably was just driving slow for me. It made me smile to think that he was thinking about me on his drive back to town.
When we both parked our cars in our garages, we met in between them to say goodnight. It was almost midnight, and I was exhausted. I certainly knew I would be asleep in only a few minutes after I got to bed.
“Well goodnight,” Marcus said as he hugged me.
“Night.” I turned to walk back to my house but then stopped to look at him. “Do you want to come over?”
He didn’t hesitate at all and was standing right next to me within three seconds. His enthusiasm over the invitation to come visit my house was really cute. We had spent the whole day together, and he still wanted to come over, I loved that about him.
�
��I think that’s a perfect idea,” Marcus said as we walked into my house.
“I don’t know how exciting and fun I’ll be; I’m pretty tired.”
“Well, I would be happy to just lie next to you for the night. I’m going to cuddle the heck out of you,” he said with a sexy hip thrust.
And that is exactly what we did. Both of us were so tired; we lay down on the bed and fell asleep on top of the covers, fully dressed. Our bodies on top of the comforter and fully dressed in our shorts and T-shirts from the night before.
It was the first time I was going to bed with Marcus without having sex. In fact, it was the first time in a really long time that I’d had a man in my bed but didn’t have sex with him. That wasn’t something I had even thought about after our first meeting. But now I was starting to get closer to him, and this was just one more step in that direction.
Somewhere in the middle of the night, Marcus and I moved under the covers because the draft from the old house was just too much. It was nice to fall asleep next to Marcus. The feeling of being next to him made it so much easier for me to actually get some sleep.
Just before dawn, I woke up to Marcus peering out the window at his house. He was hiding from someone and just barely had the blinds open. I was about to joke with him, but then I realized something serious was going on.
“What’s going on?” I said as I got up from the bed, still dressed in my shorts and T-shirt from the day before.
“I think someone is in my house.”
I came close and was about to look through the blinds, but Marcus grabbed my hand.
“Let me see. What is going on? Why would someone be in your house?”
Marcus just ignored my questions and dialed a number on his phone. I thought it would be 911 to have someone come and investigate. Although, living in Bain, Missouri meant the nearest sheriff or police officer could be a half hour away. There just was not a need to have more than a couple officers on duty in the county at any one time.
“They are here. How fast can you get here?” Marcus said to someone on his phone.
Damaged Love Page 28
