by Tina Folsom
“You’re amazing,” he was able to mumble despite the little energy he had left.
“Likewise,” she rasped.
And then he kissed her, lazily, tenderly, without an end in sight. His tongue explored her mouth as if it had never invaded before, dancing with her the timid dance of two high school kids, and entangled itself with its counterpart as if to create another Gordian knot.
There was no demand in his kiss, no intent for it to lead to anything else. It was a means and an end in itself. A kiss. A kiss full of tenderness and appreciation, of adoration and respect. A timeless caress.
Only reluctantly, he released her from their kiss.
“Oh, my God, what was this?” she whispered breathlessly, her eyes gazing into his.
Daniel smiled. “Dessert.”
4
It was past midnight, and Holly had gotten dressed. While she was in the bathroom, Daniel retrieved his wallet and took out several hundred dollar bills. He’d already paid the agency, but he didn’t feel it was enough. What she’d given him tonight was beyond what he’d expected. Never had he been able to lose himself as he had with her, and never had he felt a woman give herself so completely to him.
Daniel looked back at the tangled sheets on the bed, witnesses to their passionate encounter. She’d awakened in him what it meant to be alive. His life had been consumed with work, and he’d forgotten how to enjoy himself, how to relax and how to love. She’d shown him there was more to life than work.
He placed the money into an envelope together with a simple note, sealed it and slipped it into her purse, not wanting to taint their goodbyes with the exchange of money.
She came out of the bathroom and was ready to leave. Their lovemaking was written all over her body. She seemed to glow. Silently, he put his arm around her waist and led her to the door, then turned her toward him and pulled her close to his body.
Without a word, he sought her lips and found her eagerly accepting his kiss. One last time, his tongue swept through her mouth, visiting the places he knew so intimately by now. He felt her hands in his hair, and he loved the feel of it. It felt too good to stop.
Reluctantly, he pulled away from her and looked into her green eyes which seemed so much darker after their night of passion.
“You’d better leave before I drag you back into bed and have my way with you.” His voice was hoarse and dark with desire. He was a fool for letting her leave, and he knew it.
“I thought I had my way with you,” she teased him.
“Same difference.”
Once the door closed behind her, Daniel let himself fall against it and exhaled deeply. She was gone but had left him with the realization that he wasn’t as cold and indifferent as some of his ex-girlfriends had accused him of being. He could clearly feel the fire in is belly, the fire she’d ignited.
***
Sabrina staggered toward the elevator, her legs still shaking from the intense encounter. She’d tried to compose herself in his bathroom—to no avail. She was a mess, and the signs of sex were clearly written all over her body: her ruffled hair, her flushed face, the love bites he’d left on her skin, the pleasant humming between her legs, the scent of Daniel on her skin.
She was certain that anybody she’d run into on her way home would instantly know that she’d just had the most mind-blowing sex of her life. She was relieved to see that the elevator was empty but dreaded the moment she had to cross the lobby, where the hotel staff could surely guess that she’d been in a guest’s room to have sex.
Pearls of sweat built on her forehead. Sabrina opened her purse to pull out her handkerchief to pat herself dry and instantly noticed an unfamiliar item in it. She pulled out the envelope she knew hadn’t been there earlier.
Curiously she opened it. In it were several hundred dollar bills and a handwritten note.
Thank you for the most wonderful night. Daniel.
Sabrina knew she couldn’t accept the money. She couldn’t accept money for something that had made her feel like a real woman again. No man had ever given her so much pleasure in her life, and she wasn’t going to let him sully this feeling by taking his money. Yes, he’d paid the agency, but she would tell Holly to keep that. She didn’t want a penny of it.
What she’d given Daniel tonight, she’d given freely, and what she had received in turn from him, was more than she’d expected to ever receive from any man, let alone from one, who thought she was an escort.
His tenderness, his passion, his selflessness in pleasing her were things she’d never seen in any of the men she’d dated. Why a man who believed her to be an escort would treat her with such care, she couldn’t even begin to comprehend.
In the foyer, she wrote a note to Daniel, slipped it into a new envelope she picked up from the front desk and placed the money in it before she sealed it. She was careful so the front desk staff didn’t see what she’d put in the envelope.
“Could you please give this to Mr. Sinclair in 2307 in the morning?”
“Certainly, madam,” the employee answered and took the envelope from her. He looked her up and down, and she wondered what he was thinking. Was she a sugar mama, who was paying off her gigolo? Not even close.
Sabrina quickly left the lobby and stepped into a waiting cab.
Holly was waiting for her when she came home. As soon as Sabrina unlocked the front door, she heard her friend call out to her from the living room.
“Sabrina, is everything ok?”
She walked toward the living room and stopped at the door. Holly was propped up on the couch, a dry biscuit in one hand and a cup of tea on the coffee table.
“Are you feeling better?”
Holly waved her off. “Much better. Now, tell me, what happened? I didn’t expect you to be out so long.”
Sabrina smiled coyly. “He was very nice.”
“What? Very nice? You think you can dish me off with very nice? I want the whole story.”
Holly patted the space next to her on the couch, signaling to Sabrina to sit down.
“I’m really tired. I should go to bed.” Her resistance was met with a stern look by Holly.
“Oh, no, you won’t. Not until you’ve given me the dirt.”
Sabrina felt her cheeks turn hot. Her friend could be a pest when she wanted to know something.
“You had sex with him,” Holly stated the obvious. “No, wait! You had fabulous sex with him!”
Sabrina couldn’t suppress her smile.
“Oh my God! Sit down, and tell me everything.”
She only told Holly what was absolutely necessary and didn’t go into any of the intimate details of her night with Daniel. She wanted those things to be her own, because she knew that this was all she would get, one fabulous night with an amazing man. She didn’t want to share this experience, not even with her best friend.
She was certain Holly realized that she was holding things back from her, but after a half hour she didn’t press her any longer.
***
Daniel woke from the best sleep he’d had in years. The sun shone into his bedroom since he’d neglected to close the drapes the night before. Instead of jumping out of bed instantly the moment he woke as he normally did, he folded his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling. Then he gazed around the room.
His clothes were strewn all over the floor. Holly’s scent was still all around him, on his skin, on his lips, in the sheets. The memories of the night would see him through the next few weeks until he finalized the deal and then refocused his life. He’d done a lot of thinking since she’d left.
She’d reminded him that he was a passionate man and that he needed a passionate woman. He’d inherited more than his olive skin from his mother. He’d inherited her passion as well. He remembered the heated arguments she and his father had from time to time. As a teenager, Daniel had always cringed when he saw them afterwards as they ran off to their bedroom and locked the door behind them. Their lovemaking had been just as passionat
e as their fights, and Daniel had moved his room to the other side of the house once the ick factor had become too much for him.
Only now, he understood what they were going through. He had felt the same passion in himself.
When he was back in New York he’d do something about it, try to find a woman to complete his life. Maybe he could fulfill one of his mother’s wishes after all: bambini. But for now, he needed to concentrate on the deal.
After a long shower, Daniel got dressed and made his way down into the lobby to get to his first meeting of the day. Before he could ask the doorman to call him a taxi, a hotel employee tapped him on the shoulder.
“Mr. Sinclair. This was left for you last night.” The man handed him an envelope. His name was handwritten on it. The letter felt rather thick to the touch.
“Thank you.” Curiously, he opened it, discovering cash together with a note. He read it and stopped in his tracks.
Daniel. You’ve given me too much already.
It wasn’t signed. Holly. She’d rejected his gift. He didn’t understand why, and he had no time to think about it now. He had to get to his meeting.
The entire morning, he didn’t have a single minute to reflect on Holly’s note. Several new issues were raised regarding a contingency that hadn’t yet been met, and he needed to concentrate on the issue at hand. Everything could still fall apart if he wasn’t careful now. Too many things were riding on this deal.
Daniel was glad when it was time for lunch. He’d arranged to meet Tim at a downtown restaurant. They’d met the night he’d flown in and already caught up on the latest events, particularly on the breakup with Audrey.
“You look exhausted, Danny.” Tim was the only one who called him Danny besides his parents. With his blonde shaggy hair, Tim was the picture of a surfer dude and didn’t look a bit like the financial whiz kid he actually was.
“Didn’t get much sleep.” A wicked grin stole itself onto his lips.
Tim immediately caught on. “You dog! You fucked the escort. Who would have thought?”
He simply shrugged. “Don’t make a big deal out of it. She was cute.” She was more than cute, but he wasn’t about to share his experience, not even with his best friend.
“So, tell me more.”
“Get your kicks out of somebody else, Tim. I’m not sharing my sex life.”
“You have a sex life with an escort?”
“Subject closed.” He changed tracks. “Thanks for setting me up with the attorneys. I’ll meet them tomorrow morning. Just as well, we’re running into a few snags with some of the contingencies.”
“Anything major?” Tim had a business mind just as sharp as Daniel’s and was always at hand to bounce ideas off of.
“Nothing the attorneys won’t be able to manage. But I’ll probably have to stay a little longer than I anticipated.”
“Sounds good to me. Hey, a few buddies and I are going to see a show tonight. I’m sure we can get you an extra ticket. The cast is from London and—”
“Sorry, can’t. I’ve got plans already.” He didn’t, but he was about to make plans. The note Holly had left intrigued him. She was an escort. She worked for money, so why hadn’t she taken his tip? What escort in her right mind would reject extra money?
***
Holly was anxiously awaiting Sabrina when she returned home.
“About time!”
Sabrina gave her a stunned look. It was only about six o’clock, her usual time to return from work. “What’s wrong?” She was instantly on alert.
“He requested you again.”
Her heart missed a beat. She didn’t need to ask who he was.
“For tonight. You have to get ready now.” Holly was all excited and literally jumped in the air.
“But, I can’t. This was a one night thing. I can’t continue doing this.” As much as she’d enjoyed the night with him, she couldn’t continue pretending to be Holly.
“Sweetie, you’ve got to. If I show up instead of you, he’ll call the agency, and Misty will find out. She’ll fire me. Please. I’m sure this is the last time. He’s from New York. He’ll go back in a few days.” Holly’s voice was pleading. “Have I ever asked you for anything?”
She was right. She’d never asked for any favors apart from the one last night and now this one. Actually, it was really just one favor stretched over two nights.
Sabrina felt torn. One side of her wanted to see Daniel again and continue where they’d left off, the other was scared of the consequences. She couldn’t get involved with him, not with a man who slept with escorts, well, okay, pretend escorts.
“Holly, please. This won’t work.”
“You liked him. You said the sex was good. So, please just do this for me. Just tonight.”
Against her better judgment, she felt herself nod. “But this is the last time.”
“Promise.”
***
An hour later, Sabrina met Daniel in the hotel lobby. He was dressed in black jeans and a casual shirt and looked even more handsome than he had the night before. He looked up from his newspaper when she entered the lobby and jumped up instantly.
With a few strides, he was there to greet her. He took her hand into his.
“Hi.”
“Hi,” she echoed back.
“I hope you’re hungry. We’re having dinner at a place near Telegraph Hill.”
Sabrina gave him a surprised look. “We’re going out? Am I playing your fiancée again?”
Daniel shook his head. “We’re going out just the two of us.” He let his eyes glide over her body before resting them on her lips again. “And we’re coming back here later.”
The searing look in his eyes was a promise she’d hold him to.
A taxi took them to their destination, and during the entire cab ride Daniel held her hand. When he helped her out of the taxi, his body brushed against hers, and she shivered slightly. Her nipples instantly hardened.
“Miss me?” he whispered into her ear but didn’t wait for a reply. “Come.”
Daniel led her inside. It wasn’t what she’d expected. It wasn’t a restaurant but a large kitchen. Several other couples were assembled as well as three chefs dressed in customary chef’s garb.
“Welcome to Tante Marie’s Cooking School.”
Sabrina shot him an astounded look and caught him grin. “I’ve always wanted to try this,” he whispered to her. “It’ll be fun.”
***
Tim had told him about the place and that they offered dinner cooking classes for couples. It was so far removed from what Daniel normally did on a date that he thought it would be perfect. He wanted to do something different, and he wanted to get to know Holly and understand why she’d rejected his money. He figured the relaxed atmosphere at a cooking class was the perfect place to do just that.
The menu was simple: a salad, handmade pizza, and a tiramisu. Plenty of wine both during the cooking and during dinner. Enough to loosen anybody’s tongue.
The chefs first demonstrated the preparation of the dishes then assigned the duties to the different couples before they were let loose on the tasks. He and Holly had the task of making pizza dough. Following the recipe to a t, they measured the ingredients, mixed them with a spoon in a large bowl, and then emptied them out onto a large wooden board.
“Do you want to knead or shall I?” she asked him.
“Why don’t you start on it, and when your hands get tired I’ll take over.” Daniel stood right next to her watching her every move. They both had donned aprons the school had provided.
Her elegant hands worked through the dough, and he watched her, fascinated. Silently, he stepped behind her and molded his body to hers. He felt her surprise, but she didn’t move away.
She fit perfectly into his chest, and he knew instinctively that he would have the best sleep of his life if he could only spoon her and nuzzle his head in the crook of her neck. That’s what he wanted, have her stay with him the entire night and fall asle
ep with her cradled in his arms. Later, when they were back at his hotel, he’d ask her to stay until morning.
Reaching his hands forward, he put them onto hers and helped her knead the dough while he put his cheek to hers.
“Why didn’t you take my money last night?”
She stiffened.
“You deserved it,” he assured her and continued moving her hands with his through the dough.
“You didn’t need to give me anything.”
“Why?”
“It was more than enough.”
“What was more than enough?”
“What you gave me last night.”
Daniel needed to get to the bottom of this. “The money I paid to the agency?”
“No. That’s not what I meant.”
“Please, Holly. What did you mean?”
“Nobody has ever made me feel this good.”
His hands stopped. “But—”
“Nobody,” she repeated and turned her head to look at him. “You’re the best lover I’ve ever had.”
Looking into her green eyes, he believed her. His mouth found hers without thinking. He lost himself in a deep kiss. Hungry as he was, he all but devoured her, losing any sense of time and place.
***
Sabrina wasn’t sure whether she should have told him, but he’d been so insistent, and at this point what would be the harm if she told him the truth? And the truth was he was the best lover she’d ever had. Not that she’d had that many, but even if she had, she was sure that he would still be the best.
When she felt his demanding lips on hers, she wished they were back at his hotel, where she could rip his clothes off. She felt more than aroused by his kiss and felt her panties getting soaked with warm moisture oozing from her core.
“Hey, lovebirds, are we going to get that pizza dough any time soon?” a voice pulled them out of their embrace. The couple who was assigned with preparing the toppings for the pizza grinned at them.
Daniel chuckled. “Pizza dough, coming right up.” And then he gave her another searing look and whispered just for her to hear, “We’ll continue this later.”
