by Rachel Angel
“I’m glad you’re still here,” Sylvain said, snapping Taryn out of her concentration. She’d been looking at a spread sheet over and over, feeling like there was an error, but she couldn’t find it.
“Hi, your meeting must have gotten out early,” Taryn replied.
“It did because I called it early. I have a little surprise for you. It’s been a crazy week since we’ve been back and I wish to reward you for your patience with me. You’ve been working so hard and I want to show you just how much I appreciate you.”
“Mmm…that sounds tempting. What are we going to do?”
“You’ll find out. I have a few things to wrap up here, but Jacob is waiting for you out front to take you to the penthouse to change.”
“What should I wear?”
“Got that covered. There’s a new outfit on the bed for you to wear.”
“This is exciting,” Taryn said. She didn’t waste any time jumping up to leave. She logged off her computer and added, “It’s probably a good thing. I know I’m missing something on the report I was looking at, but can’t figure out what it is.”
“Fresh eyes in the morning will be all you need. You’ll find it,” Sylvain said. He was surprised by his words. They showed how much he trusted Taryn because normally he’d tell his employee to keep themselves planted until they solved it.
“Did I mention that I love having you for a boss?” Taryn asked.
“I certainly cannot give all my employees the same amount of attention,” Sylvain replied, laughing merrily. “I fear I’ve spoiled you, but I like it. You are very worth spoiling, Taryn Summers.”
“Thank you, now I’d better be off since Jacob is waiting for me.”
“I’ll see you in an hour and a half.”
“You won’t be back home?”
“I’ll be waiting for you at our destination,” Sylvain said. With that, his cell phone rang and he waved at Taryn and turned around to answer it.
* * *
Taryn stared at the outfit on her bed and was stunned with its beauty. It was absolutely sexy, sleek, and something that she felt was made just for her. The past month had made her realize that she also liked dressing up in all of the kitschy clothes that one couldn’t practically wear as they were roaming about a vineyard and the winery.
The dress was a sapphire blue silk slip dress with a v neckline and flared bottom that landed a few inches above Taryn’s knees, showing her lengthy, muscular, and tanned legs. The sandals were not too high, but were sexy gold strappy pumps that were completely hot and sassy attention getters. There was a complex gold necklace with a blue sapphire center and earrings that matched it. Wow! The outfit must have cost a fortune, Taryn thought.
Thirty minutes later, she was dressed up and feeling flirty, euphoric, and excited to find out what surprise Sylvain had created for her. In her thoughts she couldn’t help but hope that tonight was it—the night that Sylvain would realize he had feelings for her and be eager to pursue them. She couldn’t wait and she was as nervous as if she was on a first date with her dream man. It was partially true. Sylvain was Taryn’s dream man, but they’d certainly moved beyond first date territory.
Jacob was waiting in the living room for Taryn and whistled at her as she walked out, making her blush. “Thank you. I assume that means that I look okay, Jacob.”
“My big bro certainly does know how to pick ‘em…outfits that is.”
“He does have great taste. He must have had an assistant or shopper buy this though.”
“Nope. He did it himself. I drove him there while I was organizing things for tonight.”
“What’s going on?” Taryn asked. She couldn’t help herself because she was so eager.
“You’re not going to trick me with that question, Taryn. Sylvain would kill me if I blew his surprise.”
“That would be most inconvenient, wouldn’t it be?”
“Indeed. Now, let’s get going,” Jacob said. He stood up and walked toward the door. Taryn stared at him from behind and was once again surprised at how much he looked like Sylvain from the back. It really was difficult to tell them apart—clothed and not clothed. She briefly thought about the day she had walked in on Jacob and the show girl.
Thirty minutes later Taryn found herself being driven up to the private hangar of Richard Enterprises. She looked around for the jet, but didn’t see it. What she did see was an amazing black helicopter that was most impressive, having the words Richard Enterprises glimmering in gold letters on its tail. Standing near it was Sylvain. The sight of him standing tall and strong against his helicopter, as the most handsome man Taryn’s known, took her breath away. He was speaking with someone and he turned around, pausing momentarily and giving a big smile to Taryn as he scanned her up and down. He held his hand out, signaling he’d be a minute.
A minute later, Sylvain was walking up to Taryn, who had remained standing there watching him.
“Are you ready?”
“You know how to fly a helicopter?” Taryn asked, amazed at the thought of it.
“Indeed. It’s more of a passion for me and useful for local surveying in the Vegas area. You get a much better perspective of life and things from up high in this crazy city.”
“Yes, I suppose so. I’m very impressed. How long have you had your license?”
“Just got it yesterday,” Sylvain said. His words were so casual and he looked at Taryn seriously.
She gulped. “Yesterday,” she repeated nervously.
Sylvain busted out laughing. “I’m kidding. I’ve had it for a great many years and haven’t had any mishaps yet. Why would I take the risk of losing a treasure like you, Taryn?”
Taryn’s heart skipped a beat and she smiled, leaning in to kiss Sylvain’s cheek. “I’m so excited. I’ve only been in a helicopter once and it was to take some aerials’ of Summers Vineyard. It was really exciting, but that helicopter certainly didn’t look as amazing as yours.”
“It is beautiful, isn’t it?”
“Do you have a name for it?”
“Betalia.”
“Oh, is that Italian? What does it mean?”
“It’s just an important name to me, that’s all.”
“Okay,” Taryn said. She wondered what it meant or more likely…who she was.
Sylvain took Taryn’s hand and helped her up into the helicopter. She went over to the passenger seat, smiling at her wardrobe compared to the helicopter. It was far too elaborate for a helicopter ride, but she didn’t mind. It was a gift from Sylvain and that was good enough by her.
Once Taryn was fastened in Sylvain leaned over the dash full of buttons, knobs, and other devices and started up the helicopter. It was so quiet and Taryn was really surprised. She thought all helicopters were loud and noisy, but this one was so quiet on the inside. Sylvain just wore his communications headset so he could report in with whatever air traffic controllers he’d need to.
After they were cleared for take-off, the two began to talk as they lifted straight up into the air and eventually moved forward.
“This is a fantastic surprise,” Taryn commented, looking out the window and in awe of the view of the Strip and downtown Vegas from up high. It was different than looking through a plane window.
“You deserve it. This past month has taught me a lot, Taryn,” Sylvain said, looking toward her. “You are invaluable to me and in a short amount of time you’ve managed to give me the most confidence in my wine menu’s that I’ve ever had, not to mention a wonderfully stocked personal reserve. I appreciate it and I wanted you to know.”
“This outfit, the ride, it’s all amazing,” Taryn said. “I’m doing my job the best I can for you. You didn’t need to do all of this to show your appreciation for that.”
“It’s for everything. You’ve given me so much and I’ve also learned so much from you. It’s an honor to call you my friend,” Sylvain said.
Taryn could feel a bit of a sting in her eyes, greatly touched by the compliment. “Thank yo
u. That really means a lot coming from you, Sylvain.”
After a ride over the Hoover Dam to watch the sun setting from above, Taryn and Sylvain landed back at the hangar, where Jacob was waiting. They got into the back of the limousine and Sylvain immediately closed the window and put the block up so Jacob couldn’t see them.
Taryn wondered if he wanted her right then and there. She was game; she knew that much for sure. That wasn’t the case though. He just wanted to talk with her closely and he held her hand, playing with her fingers in a most intimate way. He’d never done that before and it made her heart feel like it was going to leap out of her chest.
As they laughed about small things, enjoying their time without any interruptions, Sylvain reached over and opened up a drawer in the back of his limousine. There was a wrapped box in there. “This is something special I got for you.”
“You’ve really outdid yourself tonight, Sylvain. I feel like a princess.”
“Princess…you’re the queen.”
“I like the sounds of that,” Taryn said. Sylvain let go of her hand and she slowly unwrapped the box that he’d handed her. It had a name on it she wasn’t familiar with and she opened up the box and paused, immediately touched by what she saw.
Sylvain had gotten her chocolates with her family’s vineyard name and logo on them. He went on to explain that they were champagne truffles made from one of the premier chocolatiers in the world. They had an agreement to provide fine chocolates for his most discerning clients upon request.
“This is so wonderful. Thank you,” Taryn said. She leaned in and pressed her body against Sylvain more tightly, kissing him passionately. His gesture had truly touched her because it was so personal in nature, something that was truly amazing.
After the kiss ended, Sylvain said, “You’re welcome. I just don’t want to take advantage of you and need to make sure I let you know just how important you are to me, Taryn.” Taryn smiled, not able to hide the glassy eyes she had. She didn’t know if he was thinking of work or something more intimate, but his words meant the world to her at that moment.
“Where are we going to now?”
“Back to the penthouse for a nice intimate dinner on the terrace,” Sylvain said.
“I can’t wait,” Taryn said. She meant it too because she longed for more of the amazing connection she was sharing with Sylvain that evening.
Dinner was fantastic, as Taryn had grown to expect and it was another indicator of Sylvain’s amazing tastes. Nothing could have been better and by the end of the meal the sexual energy between Sylvain and Taryn was so apparent that they decided to sneak off to her room.
Once in Taryn’s room, the two ripped their clothes off quickly and slid onto the soft sheets and began to pet and kiss each other heavily. It was clear that neither could get enough of the other’s touch or touching each other either. It was as needy and hungry an interaction as there had ever been between them, each one celebrating how they physically craved the other.
Sylvain’s hands were gentle and thorough as he touched Taryn intimately. She felt something stirring inside of her that was so intense. It was more than passion alone; it was a connection that she’d never felt with a man before and it confirmed to her that she truly was in love with Sylvain.
As she breathed in and anticipated his entry into her, Taryn felt so vulnerable, but it was wonderful and magical. Sylvain slid into her and the two began to rock back and forth sensually, each knowing how the other moved and anticipating their every response to the union they were experiencing.
Although they didn’t do the adventurous things that they had been doing most of the past month, Taryn found herself coming freely and abundantly, completely taken into sexual gratification by the combination of Sylvain’s hands and hard cock inside of her. They kept going and going, both growing sweaty and glistening with each thrust that was sent and received.
“Yes, yes,” Taryn said, biting on her lip to control the shouts she wanted to release. It was so intense and she didn’t know how she could control herself.
“Just let it go. It’s okay,” Sylvain said.
Taryn screamed out with her next orgasm, releasing all of the built up tension of passions and emotions within her. Sylvain exploded with her and the two collapsed down, lying next to each other and staring at each other with raw intensity.
“I love you so much,” Taryn said. The words flowed out freely and naturally, giving her another type of release. It felt good to finally say it out loud and to the man she really felt it toward.
For a split second, there was just silence as Sylvain stared at her. The look in Sylvain’s eyes quickly changed and Taryn saw him go from a spark in his eyes to a look of utter pain.
Before he could say a word, Taryn sat straight up and said, “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” Despite her composure, her heart was shattering.
Sylvain looked at her closely and it was easy to tell that he was trying to choose his words carefully. It didn’t take him long to find them. “I’m sorry, Taryn. I didn’t mean to let you think there was more to our arrangement than friendship and sex. I apologize if I let you believe otherwise. I don’t want any commitment beyond that.”
Taryn’s heart started to race with fear and anxiety. The only other time she’d felt so scared was when she was running away from Darren at the altar. What had she done? “Don’t worry about it. It’s fine,” was all she could say in response. Her mind was foggy and her heart was literally aching.
“I think it would be best if we end this part of our relationship. I don’t want things to be too difficult on you,” Sylvain said. He was already getting up and getting dressed. “I’ll make sure that you get suitable housing and do hope that you will continue working with me. I truly do value you as my wine buyer and have great respect for you.”
Taryn didn’t even have a chance to answer and Sylvain was out the door, leaving her naked and alone. The tears began to flow down her eyes and she buried her head into her knees, trying to stifle the sounds of the sobs, which had promise to be considerably louder than the sounds of her orgasms just a few minutes before. What happened? Taryn was so sure Sylvain felt something more for her. What happened?
Chapter 15
As if on cue, Jacob knocked on Taryn’s door and called for her just as she’d gotten dressed. “Taryn, are you okay? Would you like me to take you somewhere else or would you like to stay here?” His voice was soft and compassionate, obviously having handled such situations for his brother before.
Taryn went and opened the door, hoping her eyes weren’t too red. “I think I would like to go to a hotel tonight. Give me ten minutes to pack up my things.”
“Let me know when you’re ready. I’ll carry them out,” Jacob said. He looked sad and at that moment Taryn wished she could hug him to hopefully feel something nice, not the numbness that had crept into her body.
“Thank you, Jacob. I appreciate it,” she said.
It didn’t take long for Taryn to pack up her things and she made sure that she left every single thing that Sylvain had gotten her behind, including the chocolates. Now they looked like something she’d indulge in just to feel better for a few minutes while she savored a pity party. She opened up the door and walked to the living room. “I’m ready.”
Then Taryn looked up and saw Sylvain in his office in the distance. He looked at her briefly and turned back around without any emotion, hesitation, or response. It let Taryn know that he really had meant what he said and reaffirmed that it was her that took it too far. How could she have been such an idiot?
Jacob helped Taryn into the limousine for the second time that night, but this time it was certainly more somber. He didn’t know what to say and she didn’t have anything to say. After the limo pulled away, Taryn felt her cell phone vibrating and instantly hoped it was Sylvain changing his mind, overcoming some fear he may have had at the moment.
“Hello,” Taryn said, trying to sound like she wasn’t as miserabl
e as she felt deep down. Her jaw dropped when she realized that it wasn’t Sylvain. It was Darren.
“Darren,” she said.
He went on to tell her how he’d been thinking about her so much lately and wanted to apologize to her for what he’d done wrong. He’d been devastated by her abrupt departure and not having the chance to talk to her about what had happened.
“Surely that’s not why you’re calling me right now?” Taryn asked.
