by Olivia Besse
“What about you?” she asked with a laugh.
“I have no problem expressing my feelings,” he told her as he grabbed for her hand. She slinked away with a flirtatious grin, squealing as she bolted out the door and down the staircase.
“There you are!” Mia called out as she threw her hands in the air, sauntering out of the living room. “Do you have Ty with you?” she added with a knowing wink.
Before Elodie could respond, the interns appeared from out of nowhere as Tyler hurdled down the stairs. They really were like the twins in The Shining.
Didier also arrived in the giant entryway at that time, tapping at his watch as he cried out, “Why are we still here? We rented out the room at Le Bistro starting one hour ago! Move, move, move!”
Everyone obediently piled into the waiting cars and were taken to the quaint little restaurant, where a lovely feast awaited them. Now, all of the diners barely partook, but it really was a feast for the eyes. Bottles of wine were constantly being cleared from the table and everyone enjoyed themselves. Elodie even thought that she saw Intern #2 crack a smile at one point.
“I heard about your deal, Elodie,” Mia sang out. “Congratulations!”
Elodie thanked her as Tyler looked around with widened eyes. “What deal?”
“Olivier booked her for a beauty exclusive, silly!” Mia cried out, causing her heavy Fallon earrings to shake violently from her lobes.
“Really?” he asked with a proud smile. Elodie felt his warm hand on her knee as he added, “How come you didn't tell me? That's really big.”
“I don't know,” she replied, suddenly embarrassed at all of the attention. Not knowing what else to say, she chose to finish her glass of chilled rosé instead.
“Our little Elodie's going to be big!” Mia continued excitedly, refilling both of their glasses. “Remember the little people when you're all crazy famous, okay?”
“Hardly,” Elodie said with a nervous laugh as she took another sip.
“Do not be so modest,” Didier chimed in, leaning over and patting her on the hand. The two photography assistants nodded in agreement.
With pink cheeks, Elodie gave them a weak smile and finished her glass yet again. Tyler sensed her discomfort and piped up obnoxiously to change the subject. “So what's the deal with getting back to Paris?” he asked as he leaned back in his chair.
“You all go back tomorrow on the jet, and only Margot, Elodie, Daishiro and I stay for the perfume shoot,” Didier replied matter-of-factly.
Tyler sat up with a frown on his face. “Can I stay too?”
“No,” Didier told him firmly. “Clément wants you back tomorrow for a pre-season fitting.”
Like a little kid, Tyler sulked in his chair and mumbled something about “Diddy”, at which Didier glared at him and turned huffily away.
Mia looked over at Tyler with a taunting smile. “Aw, is little old Tyler going to miss his pretty little playmate?”
“Yup,” he answered plainly as he turned to look at her.
Elodie felt the tips of her ears redden as Mia burst out about how she was going to just die from “cute overload”.
“You're blushing,” he teased as she choked down another glassful of wine.
“Maybe you need to blush,” was all that she could come up with.
“Huh?” he asked, trying to decipher what she meant.
Shit, Elodie thought to herself as her head went fuzzy. She had definitely had one glass too many.
As dinner ended and they all rose up from their seats, Elodie could feel herself sway slightly. Get ahold of yourself, she thought inwardly as she tried to steady her footwork on the way to the car. Tyler offered his arm to her, but she shook her head dismissively as she tried to play it cool.
“It's like watching a baby giraffe learn to walk,” Tyler muttered to Mia, who nodded in agreement as they watched Elodie stumble around drunkenly in her towering heels.
“The rest of us are going out if you guys wanted to join,” Mia said as she elbowed him suggestively in the arm. “But I'm guessing that you two will probably just head back? Hm? Hmmm?”
Tyler let out a laugh as he watched Elodie attempt to open the locked car door a few yards away, repeatedly grabbing at the handle with a flustered look on her face. “Yea, I'm thinking so,” he replied as he waved goodbye to Mia and walked towards the car.
“The door hates me,” Elodie muttered to him as he approached where she stood.
“Yea, doors are real snotty bitches,” he agreed with an amused look on his face, motioning to the driver to unlock the car for them.
After they climbed in, Elodie let out a big sigh and collapsed into Tyler's arms. “I am so tired,” she complained as she rested her head on his shoulder.
“Then sleep,” he told her quietly as he played with one of her lifeless hands. “You don't want to look like shit tomorrow.”
She must have dozed off on the ride back to the house because, before she knew it, she was stirring awake in the comfort of the plush bed.
“How did we get here?” she asked groggily as she turned over to face him.
“I dragged you by your hair up the stairs,” he joked as he stopped whatever he was doing on his phone to give her a smile. “I even took your shoes off for you, Cinderella.”
Elodie groaned into the pillow at his comment.
“Go back to sleep,” Tyler instructed as he plugged his charger into his phone and turned off the bedside lamp. She looked up at him with half-closed lids as he slipped his arm around her shoulders and drew her close. Elodie tucked herself into the crevice of his arm and laid her hand across his chest, taking comfort in the warmth of his body.
“I am not so sleepy anymore,” she said while taking a deep breath. “I am nervous for tomorrow also.”
“How come you didn't tell me about your deal, anyway?” he asked her as they lay together, shrouded in the darkness. “I'm really happy for you.”
“I was scared to say it out loud,” she whispered truthfully. “What if I told everyone and then they changed their minds?”
Tyler let out a small snort. “Why are you always so scared? You shouldn't doubt yourself so much.”
“I cannot help it,” she admitted, feeling very vulnerable as she told him these intimate thoughts.
“I know,” he began. “That's why I like you.”
Elodie looked up at him, staring at the outline of his chiseled face in the dim moonlight. She wrinkled her nose in confusion. “What do you mean?”
He gently traced light circles on the soft skin of her shoulder before responding in a shaky voice. “You're different. You're not self-absorbed or conceited like the other girls. I've never seen you do anything selfish. You care too much about what other people think, and I can tell that you're always worried and insecure. Even though you pretend to be strong, I know that you're delicate and scared as hell. You're pure. It makes me want to protect you or something, even though you don't need me to.”
Elodie felt ashamed as she heard him compliment her so fondly. Could he not see how everything she did was for her own gain? And was he blind? She was the farthest thing from pure. The alcohol in her system did not help in that moment, as it allowed for the floodgates of guilt to open and fill her mind. Thinking back on her reckless mistakes caused her to involuntarily shudder. Who had she been kidding by blatantly stating that she hadn't cared when making those foolish choices? Of course she had.
“I am terribly selfish,” she muttered.
Tyler gave a quiet laugh as he rubbed her arm. “Yea right. You're always trying to take care of anyone and everyone, from crazy Tatiana to that herd of teenagers in Paris. You have a good heart,” he said with a slight tremble to his voice. “I like myself a little bit better when I'm with you.”
Letting out a long sigh, she groaned and buried her head in his chest. “You do not know anything,” she told him, her voice muffled by his tee shirt. “You would hate me if you did.”
“I could never hate you, unless you did s
omething really, really, really bad,” he said after a slight pause. “Even then, I'd probably stop hating you if I saw your smile.”
Where had this side of Tyler come from? Elodie looked up at him with a sad smile. “Like that one,” he whispered before leaning his head closer to hers. The silence rang in her ears and she felt like she was going to have a heart attack as he drew closer.
Elodie shut her eyes as she felt his lips grace hers gently. The faint scent of cigarettes and mouthwash remained on his tongue as she took in a deep breath, her stomach dropping as she also caught leftover hints of the masculine, citrusy cologne that he wore so well.
Tyler wrapped his right arm more tightly around her shoulders, pulling her closer as she ran her hand across his chest. His free hand grabbed at the side of her face as he kissed her again with a bit more force. Each one of his touches left a light buzzing in its wake, the undeniable electricity between them intensifying as he delved deeper and deeper into her mouth with his tongue.
The heat radiated from his body as they grew more passionate in their embrace, each moaning quietly every time the other pulled away for even a second. She struggled to pull his shirt up as he unzipped her skirt, neither wanting to pull their lips away from each other's. Elodie kicked the skirt down her legs as they inched upright together, she in his lap as he helped to slowly pull her shirt off.
With a shaky breath, Tyler stared silently at her face as he drew his hands over to her waist. Elodie could see the sides of his jaw tighten every time he clenched, placing her hands on them as he let out a deep sigh and began to plant small kisses on her neck. She tilted her head back as she succumbed to his touch, his warm hands running up and down her sides as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.
She could feel his throbbing cock harden in his Dolce & Gabbana boxer briefs just beneath herself and let out a soft whimper as his kisses moved up her neck. He hugged her as tightly as he could and she felt that her lungs might collapse in the heat of the moment, her chest feverishly imprisoned by his hold. Her hands clawed at the cool skin of his back as he led his firm lips to that sensitive region just below her ear, causing goosebumps to form down the entirety of her body.
Elodie felt herself lift her lower body up ever so slightly as he ran one hand through her hair while cradling her back with his other. Her lips found his again and he moaned in happiness as she wrapped her legs tightly around his waist and kissed him as roughly as she could. His dick pressed mercilessly against her bottom as she gave a tiny gasp and kissed him deeper. She wanted more of him, all of him, in that moment, seemingly unable to get enough despite the fact that they were almost closer than two people could possibly be.
Tyler's hands began to move slowly southward, stopping just at the top edge of her lacy underwear. He slipped them under, grabbing lightly at her pert ass cheeks as she wound her arms around his neck, grabbing at his hair with her fingertips. He pulled away slightly after teasing her with a soft kiss.
“What?” she asked breathlessly as she leaned in towards him.
He pulled back again with a softened expression. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
She couldn't think of anything that she wanted more. “You never asked before,” she replied, almost pleadingly, with a quizzical look on her face.
“I know,” he whispered back with a tiny lopsided smile. “I just...”
Elodie leaned in before he could deny her again, and he seemed more than satisfied with her answer. Their hands flew everywhere as they touched each other's hypersensitive skin in a whirlwind of passion. Elodie gyrated her lower body brutally against his, letting out small cries as her clit rubbed against his impressive bulge. Never once did they let go of each other's mouths, both becoming light-headed as they let the all-consuming sensations course through their bodies.
Tyler flipped her over onto her back as he took a deep breath, her hair fanning out around her as the back of her head hit the pillow. He spread her legs playfully as he lowered his body over hers, nuzzling her face with his nose as Elodie giggled. Tyler hovered over her, watching her breathe and smoothing her hair back before planting a soft, sensual kiss on her lips.
His hand moved its way down to her breast, grabbing it lightly as he continued to give her small, open-mouthed kisses. The weight of his body added to her excitement as his thigh rubbed against her throbbing mound. Tyler noticed her quiet moaning and traced his hand slowly down her stomach until he began to massage her under her now wet panties.
As her satisfaction escalated, Elodie tried her best to keep quiet as her breaths became sharp and shallow. She could hardly keep her eyes open as Tyler slid her underwear off and ventured in with his mouth. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the blanket underneath, her skin burning as she tossed her head back in silent ecstasy. Waves of pleasure rippled through the length of her body as Tyler pushed his moist tongue against her, sucking on her clit with his soft lips.
Elodie grabbed at his hair as she tried to steady her breath, her back arching as she tried desperately to keep from screaming aloud and waking everyone in the entire villa. Tyler looked up at her and raised his eyebrows suggestively as he wiped at his mouth. She could hardly tear her eyes away as she watched him remove his briefs and put on protection, her chest heaving as she recovered her energy. As she finally lowered her legs down on the cool blanket, she realized that they were steamed up with tiny beads of sweat.
He slid over on the bed towards her as she looked up at him with widened eyes. His eyes seemed to tremble as they looked deeply into hers. As she guided him into her, she saw his jaw tighten, though he never broke his gaze. Elodie let out a small moan as she felt him inside of her, unable to close her mouth as she took tiny breaths. The intense feeling that shot through her was overwhelming, and she fought to hold her lids open as Tyler began to slowly move his body, holding her arms tightly the entire time.
“Just look at me,” he panted out in a whisper as he thrust into her deeply. Elodie felt her stomach lurch as she looked into his eyes, unable to get words out as she gasped for air. “Always me,” he repeated through clenched teeth, his brow furrowed as he grabbed her hands and placed them above her head, winding his fingers around her own.
Each thrust cause indescribable sensations to radiate outwards as her heart thumped wildly in her chest. Tyler moved in and out slowly, seemingly wanting to take his time as they held each other's stare and listened to the other's quickened breaths. It was unlike any other of their fiercely passionate romps during which he had merely pummeled her into oblivion. This time felt more raw, more intimate and much more vulnerable.
She felt incredible as joy flooded her body, from her very core to the tips of her toes. Tyler swallowed hard when she clenched tightly and wrapped her legs around him, urging him to enter her more deeply. He let out a groan as he quickened his pace, never once breaking his eyes away from hers. Elodie bit her bottom lip tightly, trying not to scream as she felt herself pounding like a drum.
Tiny whimpers escaped her throat as the pleasure consumed her, and she could tell from his drooping lids that it was the same case for him. His grip on her fingers tightened as he further deepened his movements, pounding into her so ferociously that her eyes instantly shut closed as she threw her head back and let out a high-pitched moan. She immediately covered her mouth and widened her eyes, her head still spinning from the inexplicable moment that had just transpired. Tyler also finished with a deep gasp, falling to his side next to her as he looked at Elodie's shocked expression and gave a breathy laugh.
“Guess they'll all know what we were doing now, huh?” he asked with a big grin as he kissed her on the forehead before heading to the bathroom.
Twenty-nine
“This is unacceptable,” Margot declared with a dramatic shake of her head as they stood in front of the barren field.
“They are coming as quickly as they can,” Didier told her nervously, hissing at Intern #2 to go fetch her an iced latte straightaway.
Margot turned to glare at him as she stalked back to the car. Elodie stood nervously next to him, wearing nothing but her underwear and a dressing gown, her long hair styled into glossy waves and her face adorned with pale pink blush and bubblegum-colored lips.
“You didn't know,” Estella, the pleasant American assistant director for Ero Beauty, told him with a weak smile. “It's not your fault. This was all so last minute.”
“I know, it is definitely not,” Didier whimpered as he stared after his boss. “How am I supposed to know when flowering season is? I am not a florist!”
As the arrangements for Elodie's fragrance shoot had only been made a few hours prior, no one could have predicted that the fields of lavender would be brown and grey. The farmer had agreed excitedly to Didier's proposal for shooting on his land, neglecting to mention that it would be void of any actual lavender blooms. Upon arriving at the expansive plot of dirt, Didier had made what seemed like hundreds of frantic calls, barking at the interns and fawning over Margot as he arranged for thousands of silk lavender stems to be delivered to the “set” from various sources. All of which, to his dismay, had yet to arrive.
