There’s a rustling sound, she shouts at someone, and suddenly her voice is replaced with Tito’s as he jumps into the conversation. “We’ll go,” he shouts. “We’re totally there.”
“You sure?” I ask. “I know it’s short notice.”
I can hear Raven protesting in the background as he says, “No, it’s cool. So much better than hanging out in the city.”
“My thoughts exactly. Tell Raven I’ll have a car pick you guys up in an hour to take you to JFK. We’ll spend four or five days there, come back on Sunday. Sound good?”
“Sounds fucking great, man.”
“And Tito?”
“Yeah?”
“This is on me. Don’t worry about paying for a thing.”
“Seriously?”
“Sure,” I nod. “Call it an early wedding present.”
“Cool. Thanks, dude.”
“See you in a bit.”
I hang up, a bit confused by Raven’s hesitation to want to spend the weekend with me, and her best friends. After last night, I thought we’d pretty much settled on the fact we were a couple, but apparently not. I’ll have to make sure to spell it out for her on the plane, just to make sure she gets the memo.
I wonder if she’s a member of the mile high club?
Shrugging, I make my way into the bedroom to pack a small bag. The beach houses I own are maintained and well-stocked year round for occasions like this, so they already have food and clothing. I just need to grab the essentials to take with me, call the office to let everyone know I’ll be out for the remainder of the week, and notify Abel to make sure he lets the airport know we’re coming. I have my own private terminal out of JFK, complete with a small jet and pilot.
One of the perks of having more money than God.
Shoving some toiletries into a black duffel bag, I rummage around my drawers looking for anything else I might need. There’s a comb, a toothbrush still in its package, and a wallet-sized photo album I forgot I had tucked away. Sitting on the bed, I trace the leather cover with my fingers, suddenly feeling an overwhelming sense of guilt wash over me.
Opening it, I look down at the photographs contained within. They’re pictures of a different me, from a different time, and as I flip through them all looking at the person I once was, my eyes rim red with emotion that I choke back, because I’m not that person anymore.
We’re not those people anymore.
Just be sure to tell her you’re still married.
Alan’s words sting my conscience and pierce my heart. A moment ago I was on top of the world thinking about Raven, and now? Looking at these pictures I wonder how I can wrap my mind around running away with her for the weekend. It’s my cross to bear, but she has no idea the secret I’m hiding, and if she ever finds out it would hurt her beyond measure, and that’s the last thing I want to do.
I can’t think about it. Not now. Not after experiencing the way she makes me feel. Not just from the pleasure her body brings me, but when I’m around her everything else just fades away and I don’t have to think about the consequences because she makes my world a better place.
I’ll tell her. One day.
And pray to God she can find it in her heart to forgive me.
Getting to the terminal a little over an hour later, I’m pleased to see Raven’s already arrived, with Tito and Frankie in tow. The two men offer me smiling waves standing near the stairs leading up to my private jet, while Raven runs over to embrace me in a big bear hug. I kiss the top of her head and she looks up at me, pouting.
“Is that all I get?”
I lean in, planting my lips to hers with a tender, appreciative kiss. “Better?”
“Much.”
“You look nice,” I tell her, stepping back to admire the wicked little sundress she’s wearing. A dress that leaves little to the imagination with its sheer fabric. The darn thing could almost pass for a nightie.
“So do you,” she purrs, admiring my khakis, or rather what’s beneath them.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
Puzzled, she replies, “Why?”
“I don’t know,” I shrug. “You just seemed hesitant on the phone. Like you really don’t want to be here.”
She gives a haphazard scoff, brushing me off. “Don’t worry about it. Just cold feet is all.”
“Cold feet?”
“Yeah, you know. We’ve only really begun hitting it off and now here you are, whisking me away for some weekend getaway. Seems a bit lickety-split, don’t you think?”
“I guess I never really thought about it like that. I just want to spend time with you. Is that so wrong?”
“No,” she shakes her head, “and that’s my point. There’s nothing wrong with it at all. I’m here, aren’t I?” She winks for emphasis. “I just got turned around a little, is all. You scrambled my brains last night.”
“I’d like to scramble them on the plane,” I tell her, copping a feel of her plump ass.
She slaps me away. “You,” she trails off, spinning to rejoin her friends.
I follow, greeting Frankie and Tito with firm handshakes and warm smiles all around.
“Thanks again for the invite, Huffy,” Tito says.
“My pleasure. I’m glad you two decided to come along.”
“We’ve been needing something like this,” Frankie adds. “It’s going to be so nice to just get away from it all. The city, the wedding planning—it’s gonna be good to recharge the batteries.”
“How’s that going?” I ask. “The wedding stuff?”
They both look at one another and complain about the disagreements they’ve been having as I usher everyone up the stairs and into the cabin. Tito apparently wants to have a small, indoor ceremony with few people, and Frankie is more interested in having something outdoors, and a big celebration afterward.
“I think they should just run down to city hall and get it over with,” Raven says as we all take our seats. “Save themselves the hassle, and the money. So much pomp and circumstance for a few hours of fun, when really you’re already living together, and when it’s all over you’re going to go back home and loaf around on the sofa anyway. Don’t see what the big to-do is with a wedding.”
I say nothing, but take note of her feelings as the pilot comes over the intercom to give us our flight instructions. It’s a two hour flight, taking us to Charleston International in South Carolina. From there we’ll drive the remaining hour to Edisto Island, being transported to a whole other world in comparison to New York. I can’t wait to show it to Raven.
“Have you ever been anywhere other than New York?” I ask when we’re in the air. Tito and Frankie are busy playing Words With Friends, leaving the two of us to ourselves.
She shakes her head. “Nope. Always wanted to, but just never had the time or the money.”
“Well,” I smile. “Now you have both.”
She rolls her eyes. “Your money isn’t my money though, is it?”
I spread my arms, gesturing around the plane. “This is all for you, Raven. I mean that. I know you were a bit hesitant to come along on this trip, but I just want you to know this isn’t some whimsical getaway for me. I’m serious when it comes to you—to us. Because that’s what we are now, an us. Just so we’re clear.”
She bats her eyelashes, opening her mouth like she wants to say something, but can’t find the words. I find them for her, leaning in to plant another deep kiss on her luscious lips as if placing an exclamation point on my statement.
When I pull away she whispers, “Why? What do you see in me, Grant?”
I take a deep breath. It’s a question I’ve thought a lot about since our first meeting. By all rights this shouldn’t work, her and me. Not just because of the financial difference, but because we’re total opposites. The thing is, opposites are supposed to attract, right? So who am I to argue?
I place my hand on her knee and smile. “I see someone who is absolutely drop dead gorgeous. I see someone who challenges me like no o
ne has before. Someone who takes comfort in the simple pleasures of life, reminding me that not everything is about money or work.”
“Go on,” she grins.
I slide my hand further up her thigh. “I see someone I’d like to spend a lot of time with, clothed or otherwise.”
She giggles, and it’s quickly replaced with a gasp of delight as my fingers inch closer still to her panties. She chances a look over her shoulder at Tito and Frankie, but they’re so immersed in their game they have no idea what’s going on just ten feet away.
“Go on,” she murmurs, leaning her head back against the plush headrest.
Raven parts her legs slightly and my hand finds its way home, cupping her mound beneath her dress.
“I see someone I’d like to slide my tongue all over,” I whisper in her ear. “Someone I’d like to lick like an ice cream sundae.”
My index finger slides up and down her cleft. I can feel the fabric of her underwear dampening as I nibble on her earlobe. She whimpers, “Go on,” and I tug at her flesh with my teeth, teasing a moan out of her.
“I’d like to lay you down on the beach, licking the salt water off your nipples,” I purr. “Teasing and sucking them so hard in my mouth.”
I push the panties to the side and slide a finger inside her. Raven stifles a cry of pleasure, narrowing her eyes at me like I’m some sort of instigator. She has no idea.
“I’d like to spread your legs and dive in between them with my mouth, tasting every inch of you.”
My finger sinks deeper between her folds. She’s sopping wet but still so damn tight.
“I want to glide my tongue up and down your pink, drinking you in.”
My thumb finds the sweet spot and I rub her in circles while my finger slips in and out, in and out.
“More,” she begs.
“I want to suck on your clit. Tugging and pulling on it with my lips. Pressing my tongue hard against you.”
I press the pad of my thumb hard against her for emphasis, and Raven’s hips involuntarily roll forward to apply even more pressure. Her eyes are half open, looking lazily at me, and the expression on her face has my cock so fucking hard that if it weren’t for Tito and Frankie sitting behind us, I’d already be buried balls deep inside her pussy.
“I’m going to come,” she whispers.
“Good,” I tease. “I like to make you come. I’d make you come with my tongue, lapping up every drop of you like a thirsty puppy. Tasting you again and again, licking and sucking and swallowing every last bit of your juice.”
“Oh God,” she moans.
Her pussy clenches tight around my finger and she shudders. Her O face is spectacular and it leaves my cock feeling jealous of my hand as I feel her drip into my palm. Her chest heaves with deep, satisfied breaths, and I bring my fingers to her mouth. Raven sucks them back, tasting herself on them. I lick my lips, hungry for all of her.
“You’re incredible,” she whispers.
I trace her sweetness around the edge of her lips and lean in, licking eagerly at her mouth to taste the last remnants of her.
“So are you,” I smile.
Raven reaches over and grips my cock. A surprise breath escapes my lungs, finding its way into her mouth. Her lips close around mine for a moment and this time it’s me who whimpers.
“I’m going to show you how incredible when we get to that beach house of yours.”
I close my eyes and swallow her promise.
Fly faster, I silently urge the pilot.
Fly faster.
- 18 -
Raven
We pull into the driveway just before noon and I crane my neck out the window of the SUV to gaze upon the raised beach house I’ll be calling home for the next few days.
“Holy shit,” I marvel, eyeballing the cream colored mini-mansion with rust-colored siding on the roof.
Tito and Frankie echo my sentiment, looking across the lot at the house they’ll be staying in. Theirs is powder blue, with a white, tin siding roof.
I get out of the car and Grant comes up, wrapping his arms around me from behind. I take his hands in mine, tilting my head to the side while he kisses my ear.
“It’s so beautiful,” I say.
“Yes, it is,” he answers, only when I glance at him I see he isn’t looking at the house. He’s looking at me.
“How big is it?” I ask, raising my eyebrows at the double entendre.
He chuckles, releasing me in favor of getting our bags out of the trunk.
“It’s a little over 4,500 square feet. There are 4 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, a huge kitchen, an elevator, a—”
“A lift? Inside there?”
“Sure,” he nods, throwing his duffle bag over his shoulder.
“For the man who has everything,” I mumble, aimlessly swaying from side to side while still being completely enthralled with the house.
“And over there,” Grant points behind the house to a dock leading up to a wide river, “is Big Bay Creek. It feeds into the Atlantic, and in the mornings if you’re lucky you’ll see pods of dolphins swimming through.”
“Dolphins? Are you serious?”
“Yup.”
“Jeez, it feels like I’m in some Disney movie. Dolphins and mansions and lifts.” I spin, wrapping my arms tight around him and squeezing. “Thank you for bringing us here.”
“My pleasure,” he beams, kissing my forehead. “Just stay away from the golf course across the street. There’s alligators in the water hazards.”
“Tick tock,” I tease, thinking back to when I was a young girl watching Peter Pan in front of the telly and being completely terrified of that silly crocodile.
Alligator. Crocodile. Same difference.
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a set of keys, placing them in my palm. “You go have a look around. I’m going to go get Tito and Frankie settled in and be over shortly.”
“Hurry back,” I grin, slapping him on the ass as he walks away, and it is a spectacular ass. All snug and firm in those khakis. Looks good enough to bite.
I pass the four-car garage that sits underneath the beach house, making my way up the set of stairs with my bag firmly in hand. The back door unlocks into an open terrace that’s screened in with mesh to keep bugs away. There’s a table and four chairs set up, and I think how beautiful it’s going to be to sit out here and drink my coffee tomorrow morning.
Opening another door, I step into the house and am immediately struck by how polished the hardwood floors look. My eyes are instantly drawn to their lush shine before scanning up and into the sun room with a big bay window that overlooks the creek. Summer furniture sits bright and welcoming, and there’s a stereo on the far wall. It’s all open concept, and after setting my bag down, I step from that room into the kitchen.
“He wasn’t kidding,” I whisper, swirling my way around the large room Grant told me about. In the center is a wide, long island with eight bar stools on one side, and cupboards and drawers on the other. It’s surrounded by loads of counter space, stainless steel appliances, and a walk-in pantry stocked full of goodies.
I grab a can of Pringles off the shelf and pop them open.
Munching a chip, I go into the living room across the way from the kitchen. There’s a huge L-sectional in the corner, plush carpeting, an entertainment center, two bookcases overflowing with paper and hardbacks, and a little desk in the corner with a laptop.
I shake my head. Most people would be lucky enough to call this home, but here it sits, probably empty most of the year until Grant decides to take a visit. I don’t begrudge him his fortune, but this all just seems so excessive, and there’s another one right next door just as nice—if not nicer—than the place I’m standing in now. I can’t help but think all the money he’s sunk into houses and airplanes and whatever else he has would’ve been better spent going toward helping those less fortunate than he is. We live in a city with over 60,000 homeless people. Surely his money could be used in better ways than this?r />
“Do you like it?”
I jump, dropping a Pringle to the carpet. Spinning, I see Grant leaning against the wall with his hands shoved in his pockets. He’s got a hopeful smile on his face, looking absolutely relaxed and gorgeous in the untucked dark blue casual silk shirt he’s wearing.
“The least you could do is become Batman,” I smile.
He screws up his face so delightfully all I can do is laugh. Wiping those thoughts from my mind I saunter over and wrap my arms around him. We’ve been here less than half an hour and already I can smell the fresh air and sea salt on him. Mixed with his cologne, it’s a truly intoxicating scent that has my body buzzing.
“I love it,” I say, kissing his neck. “It’s beautiful. Just what we need after the hellacious week we’ve had.”
“Agreed.”
“Have you decided what you’re going to do about all that?”
He shrugs. “Who knows?”
I pause my kisses and look up at him. The Grant I know—the cutthroat, ruthless businessman—would already be formulating some type of plan to get back at his former friend. Instead, he’s got a look of indifference on his face that’s truly surprising.
“Who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?” I ask.
He laughs, squeezing me closer. “Let’s not worry about all that right now. We’re here to relax, remember?”
“Speaking of relaxing,” I purr, slowly sliding my hands down the front of his shirt before they come to rest on his belt. He closes his eyes as I tug on it. His smile widens in gleeful anticipation.
“We better be quick. I told Tito and Frankie that once they’re settled we’ll go grab some lunch. There’s a seafood place around the corner I want to take you to. It’s got delicious flounder.”
“Aww, you’re so good to me, Mr. Huffman.”
He pries his eyes open and looks down at me as I drop to my knees and begin unbuckling him.
“Now it’s my turn to be good to you,” I wink.
Before I can even get the first notch loose, Grant swoops down and picks me up. I yelp in surprise as he carries me over to the couch and sets me down. He collapses next to me and undoes the belt himself. Then his pants, and his zipper, and the next thing I know he’s yanking everything down around his ankles and his bulging cock is swaying in the open breeze.
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