by Sherie Keys
“What is this? Where are we?” she asked with childlike wonder as she gazed about at the stalls and tables that lined the street.
He stood there and looked at it, considering it thoughtfully for a moment as he answered her. “This is Feira da Ladra. The rough translation for that is ‘market or faire of the thief’. You see, this market dates back to the twelfth century and it was called Feira da Ladra then because most of the goods that were sold here were stolen. That is of course no longer the case, I think, but the name has remained. Come, let’s see what the merchants are selling today.”
She laughed and found the market infinitely more fascinating having learned the history of it, than she would have if she had only happened upon it herself. They meandered along the lane and enjoyed seeing the many different wares that were being hawked. Partway through their wandering they stopped at the shop of a jeweler, and he bought her a vintage golden necklace with a pearl fastened as a pendant on it.
“I can’t let you buy that for me!” She tried to stop him, thinking that it was too much, but he only shook his head and bought it for her anyway, placing it around her neck carefully.
“Of course I can. Would you deny me the pleasure of adorning my lover with a beautiful gift? This will remind you of your time here with me in the future, when these days are long gone. Please accept it and enjoy it.” He gave her a serious though kind look.
She knew that he was right, and she smiled and kissed him. “I can see it that way. Thank you so much. It is beautiful.”
“You are beautiful,” he told her with a sweet look as he held her hand.
She felt beautiful, and she realized that it was because he made her feel that way. It was almost as if she was glowing from the inside out, and she loved the way that that felt.
“Where shall we go now?” she asked, grinning over at him as they strolled an old narrow lane hand in hand.
“Oh, I thought we’d go see the National Pantheon which is very close by here, and the Museu de Artes Decorativas,” he said with his rolling accent.
She narrowed her eyes slightly as she grinned. “What is that second one that you mentioned?”
He laughed softly. “The Museum of Decorative Arts. You’ll love it. You love art and history, you will love it. Also, we should get some ice cream, just as a treat.” He winked at her, and she nodded.
“Lead on!” She tucked her hand into his arm, and they continued onward.
When the day was nearly gone, he took her out to another Fado pub where they lost themselves in the beautifully sad music, and then they had a fine dinner at a good restaurant that served more traditional food. She felt as if she was truly seeing the heart of Portugal, and she loved it, all of it, more than she could have imagined that she might.
When he took her back to her hotel, he stopped at the door and held her hand, gazing intently into her eyes. “Do you want me to stay again? I don’t want you to feel obligated to say yes. If you want me here, I will stay with you, but if you would rather have this time to yourself, then I fully understand.”
Delphine bit at her lower lip. “I do want you to stay, but… do you want to stay?” she asked, feeling slightly nervous.
His gaze intensified, and he touched her cheek with his fingers. “More than anything,” he answered, leaning in to kiss her softly. They were only outside of her door for a minute before she opened it and the two of them made their way to her bed, peeling their clothes off and reaching their hands and hungry bodies for one another.
It was a long night filled with love making, and he didn’t let her go until after the third time they had found ecstasy in each other’s arms, and then slumber beside one another once more. In the morning he made love with her again before they left for the day, and she found herself blissfully lost in him, and in the wonders of Portugal.
On her third day with him, Adrian took her to Belém. She was amazed at the history and beauty of the historic waterfront neighborhood. He stopped at the ever popular Pasteis de Belém for tarts and coffee, and then they walked to visit the Belém Tower and the Jeronimos Monastery. When they reached the Discoveries Monument by midday, he was explaining the history of it to her and she was soaking it all in like a sponge.
“There is so much importance to this place. Many famous explorers have been here or left from here to go and discover the world. During the Age of Exploration, Vasco da Gama left from here. He was the first man to sail directly to India from Europe. Also, Ferdinand Magellan left from here. He was aboard the first ship to ever successfully circumnavigate the globe. There were many other explorers who either started here or came here on their journey’s. It’s a landmark of exploration and discovery.” He looked proudly upon it, and she loved seeing that pride in him.
“It’s beautiful, and I can see why it means so much. I think it’s important to remember the world changing events and places from humanity’s history.” She considered the tower and what it had meant to the worlds of science, math, exploration, and astronomy.
“Not far from here is Belém Palace. That’s where the president of Portugal lives. We can stop by there if you like, just to take a look. I was thinking that we might go to the beach this afternoon. There are many great beaches around here and you should have some time to enjoy them while you’re here.” He watched her and smiled at her, holding her hand. She thought she saw something sweet and deep in his eyes, but then it seemed to pass, and she disregarded it as sunlight glinting off of the water around them.
When they had spent some time seeing the Coleção Berardo Museum and a couple of scenic gardens, he took her back to the hotel so that they could refresh themselves and change into evening clothes. As they entered the lobby, a young man in a business suit leapt up off of a chair he had been sitting on in the lobby, and he rushed toward them.
Delphine stopped short and stared at him, but the young man stood directly before Adrian and eyed him anxiously. “Sir, I have a message for you. Julio Rivera needs to meet with you tomorrow. It’s urgent.”
Adrian turned to Delphine and let go of her hand, giving her a slight smile. “I need to make a phone call. I’m sorry, please excuse me for a minute.” With that, he walked over to the private business office that the hotel offered to its guests, and he closed the door behind him after going inside it.
The young man looked over at Delphine and held his hand out to her. “Good day, miss. I’m Lorenzo.”
“Hello, Lorenzo. I’m Delphine,” she replied, her mind erupting with questions. “How do you know Adrian?”
Lorenzo looked surprised. “How do I… uh, I work for him. I’m his personal assistant. I actually arranged your castle visit to Saint George’s and the transportation for the cars you’ve had here and there around the city.”
She was stunned. “Oh, thank you. I didn’t know that.”
“Are you in business with Mr. Ferriera?” Lorenzo asked interestedly.
Delphine shook her head. “No, actually. I’m not. I’m here on vacation, and Adrian is showing me the city.”
Lorenzo looked shocked. “You’re not… you’re not in business with him, and he’s giving you tours of the city?”
“Yes, for three days now.” She wondered how Adrian’s personal assistant didn’t already know that.
Lorenzo’s mouth dropped open for a long moment, and then he closed it. She lowered a brow at him. “You seem surprised,” she noted aloud.
“Well… I guess I am. I mean, Adrian doesn’t spend time with many women. Or… any women, really. Nothing more than a night at most, and certainly not three days with anyone. It’s always business first with him.” Lorenzo eyed her curiously.
Delphine felt her stomach tighten. “Is he with a lot of women?” She almost didn’t want to know the answer. She knew she shouldn’t even be asking; it wasn’t her business. She was there for a week and that was it, and anything outside of that week was just not her business. Still, she was curious, and she thought maybe Lorenzo would tell her. She was right.
He only hesitated a moment before answering her. “Well, if you’ll forgive me for saying it, it isn’t so much that he’s with them as it is all of them trying to come after him and land themselves a billionaire property developer.”
It was Delphine’s turn to gape at him. She blinked in surprise and couldn’t speak.
He looked back at her with the same surprise. “You… you didn’t know?”
Adrian walked up to them just then and spoke with a tired voice. “No, she didn’t know,” he answered for Delphine.
Lorenzo’s light face went red from the roots of his hair to the tie around his neck. “Oh… sir, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize.”
Adrian only sighed and pushed his hands into his pockets. “Lorenzo, please arrange a car to Sintra in the morning.”
“Will it be a day trip for two?” Lorenzo asked, looking from Adrian to Delphine. Adrian lifted his brows questioningly.
“I hope so. What do you say, Delphine? Come with me to Sintra tomorrow?” There was a tone about his voice that was tinged with both hope and disappointment.
Delphine’s head was reeling from the facts that she had just found out about her new lover. She had felt as if the whole time with him, the whole thing was nothing but a dream; a beautiful dream, and it had crossed her mind more than once that it was too good to be true, but she hadn’t actually believed that. She had believed that he was something much different than what she had just learned that he was.
“No, I’m sorry. I don’t think I will be going.” She began to back away from him, and Adrian’s eyes took on a worried look.
“Wait, don’t… don’t leave, don’t say no. We can talk about this. It’s really not a big deal at all. Come to Sintra with me,” he pleaded, reaching his hand toward her arm.
“No, I think I’ll be on my own tomorrow,” she told him, feeling a sadness and disappointment in her heart. She felt as if she had been lied to, and she didn’t like the way that that felt at all. She took a few more steps back and began to turn away from him and Lorenzo.
“Yes, Lorenzo, there will be two of us going tomorrow,” Adrian stated adamantly over his shoulder to his personal assistant before hurrying after Delphine as she made her way down the hall.
Adrian caught up with Delphine just as she was entering her room, and he stepped into it with her. When the door closed behind him, he reached for her arm, but she pulled away and stood a few feet from him, giving him an angry look.
“Why weren’t you honest with me? Why did you lie to me about who you are and what you do?” she demanded as anger began to build up inside of her.
He shook his head. “I didn’t lie to you!”
“Oh fine. It was a lie by omission then,” she snapped irritably, placing her hands on her hips.
“I wasn’t trying to lie to you! Listen… women come after me all of the time. All of them want me for my money, but with you it was different! It was real, and I didn’t want to ruin any of that. I loved being able to just be a regular guy with you! Everything else that I told you is true! If you liked me for who you thought I was, then the money shouldn’t matter. The only thing that should matter is what we are feeling.” He walked toward her, reaching his hands to her arms, his eyes locked on hers.
“I wasn’t lying to you. There is no reason to lie to you. I just wanted to get to know who you are without that filter between us. I wanted you to know who I really am without it. Can you understand that?” His eyes searched hers, and she felt her heart melt.
“Yes, I can understand it.” She sighed quietly.
“Good. Because I have found an incredible friend in you, and a lover the likes of which I’ve never known. I don’t want anything to go wrong between us and ruin the time that we have left together.” He drew her to him and brought his lips to hers, kissing her softly. “Don’t you want our remaining time to be filled with all the good things and nothing bad?” he asked breathily, kissing her deeply again and wrapping his arms around her.
Fire ignited in her, and she reached her arms around him slowly, giving in to her emotions and desires. “Yes… I do want that.” It wasn’t too easy to admit, but she wasn’t able to deny it at all.
“Good.” He began to smile as he walked her toward the bed, slipping her clothes off of her and running his hands hungrily over her skin. “Then, come with me to Sintra tomorrow, and let me make love with you now, please…” He kissed her from her mouth down her throat to the swell of her breasts, which were cupped in his hands. “Please…” he murmured between mouthfuls of her flesh.
She closed her eyes and let her head fall backward. “Yes,” she whispered as he laid her back on the bed and buried his ravenous mouth between her thighs, making her forget every worry in her mind. He made her cum and then cum again before he entered her, filling her with his desire and need, holding her for a long while before he finally let his own orgasm overtake him.
They ordered dinner in to be delivered to the room, and when they had eaten their fill, he pulled her into the bed again to make love for the rest of the night. As he began to kiss her body again, she looked at him with a curious smile.
“Aren’t you getting tired of me yet?” she asked interestedly.
“Not at all,” he answered as he held her in his arms and ran his hands over her dark curves. “In fact, I’m finding that it’s quite the opposite with you. I just can’t seem to get enough of you.”
With that, she straddled him, and he pulled her down over his hard erection, his hands moving from her hips to her breasts as he thrust himself deeply inside of her, making her cry out with overwhelming pleasure, and making her forget that there was anything outside of his body united with hers.
Chapter4
Delphine awoke to the smell of coffee and a variety of hot breakfast foods. When she opened her eyes and pushed herself up in bed, she saw that there were trays of food on carts being delivered to the table in the sitting room. The waitstaff left, and Adrian walked into the bedroom with a smile on his face.
“Good morning!” he said sweetly, sitting beside her on the bed and leaning close to give her a kiss.
She grinned and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him in return. “Good morning to you, too.”
He began to kiss her deeper, and then he moaned softly and gently forced himself away from the bed. “If we start that, I’m not going to let you get out of bed, and we have a schedule today. Come, I’ve ordered breakfast for us. Let’s enjoy it and then get on the road to Sintra.”
“Thank you for ordering breakfast. That was thoughtful of you. And… I don’t mind waking up to kisses at all.” She gave him an inviting look.
Adrian let out a deep sigh then and shook his head. “I would really rather get into that bed with you, but we must be going.” With a wink, he walked back into the sitting room and she giggled softly and loved the butterflies that were dancing all through her.
Delphine rose from the bed and slipped into a satin robe, tying it around her waist. She mused over the strangeness of how she had just been in New York days before with a boyfriend she thought she was going to marry and start a family with, and on the turn of a dime she was in Lisbon, Portugal with a beautiful stranger; a new friend who was giving her a precious reprieve from her life and her heartache.
It was astounding to her, and though she couldn’t quite wrap her mind around it, she didn’t think that she wanted to. She thought instead that she should just enjoy what was happening and let it keep happening, because it was going to end when she left, and she would have to face the reality of her life in New York all too soon.
The inviting aroma of coffee drew her into the sitting room and she wrapped her hands around the mug and sipped at it blissfully. Adrian sat beside her and together they enjoyed a sumptuous breakfast. Not long afterward, they were dressed and ready to go at the door of the hotel where their car was waiting for them.
The road to Sintra was short. It wasn’t much more than a twenty-minute drive, and they f
ound themselves entering the city. The office that they pulled up to was in the heart of the city, and Adrian indicated it as he helped Delphine from the car. “The city is yours to enjoy. There is much to see here. Explore at your will, the car is yours if you want it, and I will contact the driver when I am finished with my meeting. I’ll catch up with you then and we’ll continue our adventure.”
He gave her a grin as his blue eyes sparkled and his dark hair wavered in the breeze. She told herself for the thousandth time that she absolutely must be dreaming and that she couldn’t possibly still be in her life, but there he was before her, wrapping his arms around her and pressing his lips softly to hers. “I’ll see you soon,” he murmured as he let her go reluctantly.
