“You are the most beautiful girl in the world.”
Corinne blushed. “You’re just saying that because I sucked your soul from your body,” she teased. It brought a rambunctious guffaw from Xavier as his smile spread in a beautiful pearly display.
“Yes,” he admitted, “you did, but that is just icing on the proverbial cake.” He leaned down and kissed her lips, then her forehead, then her chin.
It was then that Corinne caught her first real look at him. He was fully dressed, and the spicy shower gel he’d used was coated on his skin.
“I’m holding us back, aren’t I?”
“Not at all. We’re on vacation. We’ll do what we want. If you would like to linger another day, we will, but I won’t promise to keep my hands to myself now that you’ve awakened the beast in me.”
The thought of another round of sexual bliss with Xavier heightened her body but also reminded her of the soreness between her thighs.
“I’m up,” she said, rising quickly.
He chuckled, and Corinne stood to her feet.
“Whoa,” she said, pausing and reaching out for the wall.
Xavier was at her side. “Careful, Bella Anima, maybe you should lie back down.”
Corinne steadied herself as the dizziness moved past her. “I’m good,” she said.
“Sure?”
She smiled. “Yeah.”
He pulled her close, bringing a glaze of heat as he kissed her lips. She felt so cozy with him she could live in that moment forever. She closed her eyes and inhaled then exhaled.
“Let me show you to the bathroom,” he said, taking her hand and linking their fingers.
She followed him through the spacious design of the luxury aircraft to the bathroom that boasted hardwood floors and a clawfoot tub. Rose petals led a path to the bathtub and more petals floated on top of an arrangement of bubbles. Around the outer edges, tealight candles were lit and a vanilla fragrance wafted from the room.
Corinne glanced up at him. “For me?”
Xavier pulled her close again to kiss her lips. “Who else would it be for?”
Corinne blushed; she could get used to being taken care of like this.
“I’ll tell you one thing, if you spoil me like this who knows when you’ll get rid of me.” She smirked.
“In that case, prepare to be showered.”
Corinne smirked and strode away from him. As she sauntered, she reached for the top button of his shirt that she wore and unclasped them one by one keeping her back to him.
“I’ll give you some privacy.”
But before he could escape, Corinne spun around with the shirt falling from her fingers. It fell in a pool around her feet and soaked up the dangerous gaze Xavier wrapped her with. Her body shuddered as she thought of the things his mouth had done to her, the way he tasted every plane on her body. Xavier, on the other hand, was hard as a rock.
“Are you sure you don’t want to bathe with me?” She turned her back to him and lifted her leg, deliberately sticking out her ass and giving him a peek of her mound.
“I’m sure If I get in there with you, we will spend the day on this jet.” Xavier’s voice was rough, and he was trying like all hell not to rush her. Unfortunately, his resolve was broken when Corinne stepped in the tub and dipped her body in the water then stood back to her feet.
Wet bubbles slid down her form, coasting over her brown skin, dark areolas, flat belly, and apex of her center.
“Fuck it,” he said, removing his clothes piece by piece.
He’d already been in the shower, but it wouldn’t hurt to clean up again after getting dirty one more time. He scooped her up in his arms, and Corinne laughed out loud then moaned once her legs wrapped around his waist and connected with his ridged shaft.
“Uuuuuh…” She threw her head back, and they made love throughout the afternoon.
Xavier and Corinne were able to salvage some part of their day. Although it was late evening, the sun was still high in Zambia, and they took advantage, being met with a hatch-top safari vehicle. The heat index was sweltering with high humidity and the normal subtropical wet-dry atmosphere. But they were none the wiser as they sat comfortably leaned into one another as the cart drove over the rugged terrains.
“What do you think we’ll see today?” Corinne asked.
Xavier was spaced out, and Corinne peered at him then asked another question.
“Hey, where are you?”
Xavier glanced down at her. “I’m here with you.”
Corinne twisted her lips. “For a second you were gone. Where’d you go?”
Xavier’s gaze flipped back to the road in front of them when he spoke.
“My family is in a bidding war with the Rose’s over The Fairburn Development. It’s going to get nasty before it’s resolved.” He sighed.
“How important is it to your family to have?”
The cart rocked slightly as they rode over a rough patch of terrain.
“Can you keep a secret?” He asked.
“Yeah.”
Xavier licked his lips. “Hunter wants to gift the property to Camilla as a wedding gift. I’m sure you’re aware that Camilla wants to start her charity by housing the homeless in the hotels.”
Corinne’s eyes widened and she nodded.
“Wow, that’s incredible of Hunter to do.”
“Yeah, but he may not get it.”
Corinne frowned. “If you think that then you’ve already lost,” she concluded.
Xavier smirked then leaned down placing a fiery kiss against her cheek.
“You’re right. Thank you for reminding me.” He paused. “Enough about business. You asked about the animals we might encounter. I’m thinking, maybe a few lions or elephants. Should we ask?”
“Oh.” She smiled. “I didn’t think you heard me.”
“I always hear you,” he said holding her with a steady gaze. “Excuse me, sir,” Xavier called to their driver Phillip.
“How can I help you?” Phillip returned, his accent thick and deep-rooted.
“My lady would like to know which animals we might see today. Have any idea?”
“Oh, yes,” Phillip said with a wide smile. “There will be, giraffes, lions, and surely elephants.”
Xavier wiggled his brows at Corinne with a jaunty smile and an “I told you so” expression in his eyes. Corinne laughed and slapped his chest with a playful tap.
“However,” Phillip continued, “if you’re really adventurous, you could ride the elephant.”
Corinne’s eyes widened.
“Would you like that, Bella?”
“Is it safe?”
“Perfectly,” Phillip responded.
“No, I mean for the elephant,” Corinne said. “I’ve heard a thing or two about the dangers of riding their backs. I don’t want to ride for the sake of my own selfish reasons if it’s unethical to the animal.”
Xavier stared at her in shocked silence but truly, he shouldn’t have been surprised. He knew Corinne was a caring person. It was her personality trait that made him love her that much more.
“Elephant trails with our company are limited to thirty minutes tops. It’s usually around one field and only so you can have the experience of seeing the land from up high,” Phillip responded. “Our elephants are well taken care of, and we would not put them in harm’s way for anyone, or anything.”
Corinne bit the corner of her lips, pondering Phillip’s words.
“I’ll tell you what. My assistant and I will help you two on top, and if it makes you feel better, you don’t have to move, just sit for a second and take it all in.”
Xavier studied her. “What do you think?”
“Hmmm, maybe.”
Xavier pinched her chin. “All right Phillip, we’re game.”
Chapter Fifteen
“Oh my God!” Corinne squealed.
The green land stretched for miles around them. Wildlife, diverse and uncaged, trotted comfortably about creating a
scene of paradise unlike anything Corinne had witnessed in the states.
“You said lions and elephants! This is…” she shook her head in disbelief. “Amazing.”
They were perched on the back of a mother elephant with Xavier’s arms wrapped around her waist. Antelope galloped through the field, while hippopotamus floated in the nearby lagoon. Xavier and Corinne scanned the land, taking note of a family of cheetahs not too far from their position.
“This is beautiful,” he said.
Corinne patted the sides of her shorts. “Where’s my phone, I have to take a picture of this!”
Xavier chuckled, pulling out her cell phone and handing it over to her.
Corinne peered up at him, and Xavier pushed his mouth to her ear and said, “You left it on top of the counter, when we… um, became distracted.”
Corinne giggled and fell to the side in an exuberant laugh. Xavier bit down on his lip with a smile lurking at the corners of his mouth.
“I don’t know what you’ve done to me,” Corinne said, “but I’ve never had this much sex in my life.”
Xavier wiggled his brows. “That’s good news, baby. I plan to be your first and last all-nighter.”
“Slash all-dayer, all-afternooner!” She giggled again, and Xavier nodded.
“Exactly!”
Shaking her head, Corinne lifted her cell phone and captured a few pictures making sure to get the neighborhood giraffes that stood upright eating leaves from a tall mimosa tree. She quickly switched to start a video. In it, she recorded the landscape, animals, and the elephant they sat upon.
“This is awesome,” she said, “my parents would love to see this.”
“Why don’t you show them?”
“I could never get them on the same schedule to come here. My mother’s busy with her catering business, and my father is busy with his construction company.”
Xavier tapped the phone. “So, show them, on live video.”
Corinne smiled. “A-ha!”
She dialed their number and placed the call on video. It rang a few times then Brenda Thomas answered the phone. Her face displayed across the screen while Corinne’s sat in the upper righthand corner.
“Hello, my beautiful child, you know your father’s been waiting for you to call.”
Brenda Thomas’s smile held elegance and grace, and her frosted strands of gray hair were pinned to the top of her small head.
“Hey Mom, is Daddy there now?”
“Daniel!” Brenda called.
Corinne could hear his heavy footfalls stomping through the house and seconds later, her phone was filled with his brown aging face.
“Sweet pea,” Daniel said. “I thought you had forgotten about us.”
Corinne pursed her lips. “You are so dramatic. Listen, I have someone I want you both to meet.”
“Who is it?”
“It’s someone special, and I didn’t want to introduce you this way, but we’re together, and I want you to experience something with us real quick.”
Corinne glanced over her shoulder, finding Xavier’s piercing gaze on her.
“You don’t mind, do you?” She whispered.
“Not at all.” His profound voice tingled her spine, and she blushed.
“Someone special…” Brenda Thomas oozed. “Well don’t keep us in suspense, who is it?”
“I’ve got an idea,” Daniel Thomas responded. He didn’t sound too pleased about it either. “It’s that Valentine you were seen all over the news with making out in that restaurant.”
Unease settled in Corinne’s stomach, but she shook it off and pushed forward.
“That Valentine is Xavier, and yes, you don’t think I’d be making out with just any blow joe off the street, do you?”
“I would hope not,” Daniel said. “Although I would’ve much preferred it if you didn’t make out at all until I met the fella.”
“Oh, Daddy, do you think you met the guys I made out with in high school?”
“This conversation is not going in a direction that I like,” Daniel said.
Brenda pursed her lips tight and tried to contain a hoot that wouldn’t be detained, sending her into a fit of laughter.
Daniel scowled at his wife. “I’m sorry, honey, it’s funny,” Brenda said.
Xavier’s face filled the screen next to Corinne’s. “Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas. I’m Xavier Valentine, and I too don’t like where this conversation is going.”
Corinne pursed her lips, eyed her mother, and they both fell into a round of laughter.
“Okay, okay, look.” Corinne waited for her mother’s amusement to subside. “Xavier and I are a couple, and I’ll be bringing him for dinner um…” she thought for a second. “Scratch that, you’ll meet him at Camilla’s wedding. I unfortunately don’t get any more time off until then.”
“Xavier,” Daniel said, “Since I don’t get to have the formal talk with you, I’ll just be straight with it. If you hurt my daughter…” he paused. “I’ll kill ya.”
“Daniel— Dad!” Brenda and Corinne screeched.
Xavier chuckled. “You have my word that I’ll take good care of her.” Xavier glanced at Corinne. “Always.”
Heat gathered in Corinne’s cheeks, and she shuffled to change the subject.
“Okay, Mom, Dad, I have something I want you to see.” Quickly, Corinne flipped the phone’s camera around, and the gasps she heard made her smile.
“Oh, dear heavens, where are you?” Brenda asked.
“We’re in Africa!”
“Africa!?” Her parents said concurrently.
“Yeah!”
Corinne continued to move the camera around the area, and with sudden surprise, the elephant moved.
“Ah!” Corinne screeched. “What’s happening, oh my God!”
“What is happening?” her parents asked.
Xavier chuckled. “You’re okay, we won’t go far.”
“Are you riding a horse?” Brenda asked.
“No, an elephant!”
Another sharp gasp rang through the phone.
“Corinne Thomas, you get down off that elephant right now, you know there’s an ongoing fuss about the safety for that animal!”
Xavier chuckled again. “Like mother, like daughter,” he said.
“We’re getting down now. I promise she’s not hurt, Mama.”
Brenda grumbled on the other end.
“That scenery is beautiful. What made you decide to go to Africa?” Daniel asked.
Corinne peered over her shoulder. “Someone special invited me, and I couldn’t resist.”
Xavier leaned forward and kissed her lips and then her cheek. The mother elephant-headed toward a Riverbed. Once she was there, the mother elephant sank her trunk into the water then tossed it back, splashing Corinne and Xavier.
“Oh my God!” Corinne screeched, and they both laughed harder than they’ve ever laughed before.
“She’s just hot, this is how she cools off!” Phillip the safari guide said, watching them from behind.
“No, she wants you to get off her back,” Brenda fussed, glaring through droplets of water that trickled down the phone.
The mother elephant repeated the water toss, but it only made Corinne and Xavier laugh harder.
“Okay! We’re sorry!” Corinne yelled. “Come on, babe, let’s get down.”
The duo laughed as they were sprayed a third time, and eventually, they were helped to the ground. They continued their adventure from the safari truck for the next few hours until they had no choice but to head to their hotel.
Chapter Sixteen
The next two days were complete bliss and surpassed any adventure they’d ever had. Xavier and Corinne found themselves tracking through the exquisite Batoka Gorge with the Victoria waterfall drizzling in the backdrop. They paddled across what was known as the boiling pot in a raft that brought them face to face with the rainfall of water. Then with Xavier’s help, they climbed onto a nearby landing of rocks and stood un
derneath the waterfall.
“Not afraid to get your hair wet, I see,” Xavier said as they crossed under the water and were shielded behind it.
Corinne poked her lip out then smiled. “Nope but be warned that you’re about to see my hair in its natural state once this is over.”
“Hmmm, I’d much prefer it that way.”
Corinne twisted her lips. “You lie,” she said.
Xavier closed in on her, and Corinne stepped back as he got closer. Her back hit the solidness of the black basalt rock, and her eyes lurched because she knew she was in trouble.
“Now does this look like the face of someone who’d lie to you?”
Xavier grinned naughtily, and Corinne shrieked when he lifted her in his arms. Her legs found their home around his waist and with her comfortable latch came a rigid dragging of his dick to her vagina.
“I’ve been thinking,” Xavier said. His voice was deep and penetrating as he fought to finish his thought through the lava-filled heat that swept over his skin. “What’s keeping you in Florida? Everyone you love is either in Tennessee or Illinois.”
Corinne practically purred as she responded. “Florida is my home. It’s all I’ve known when it comes to building a foundation. But Chicago is growing on me.”
“Then you should stay,” he added, “with me.”
His dick would not be restricted in his shorts as it reached out and tapped against the seat of her panties.
“Oh…” A moan escaped her lips, and they both instantly became aroused.
“We’re in public, we probably shouldn’t,” Corinne said.
“You’re right,” Xavier agreed. “We should get out of here before I end up devouring you against this rock.”
Corinne’s nipples cowered as they hardened. She rotated her hips, causing more heat to balloon in his erection. It became hard as steel, and her fingers trotted down to his shorts, and easily she pulled his bulging member out.
It curved upward and stabbed against her pussy like it had hit a bullseye.
“What are you doing, Bella…” His lips landed against hers for a sweltering kiss.
She spoke between their lips meshing while huffing and puffing. “Getting devoured by you against this rock,” she crooned.
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