“Are you okay?” he asks after a moment.
I shake my head.
“No, I don’t think so.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” I shrug my shoulder. But that’s a lie. The truth is that I can’t do this.
“I’m not this person,” I say after a while. “The thing is that I’m not someone who wants to sign any sort of contract to have sex with a man I love.”
Aiden looks away, running his fingers through his hair.
“I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“You didn’t.”
“Clearly, I did.”
“Well, maybe a little,” I say. “But it doesn’t matter.”
He takes the contract and rips it up.
“What are you doing?”
“The thing is that was just for fun,” he says with a shrug. “The truth is that I want to be with you. That’s all.”
“Without any paperwork?”
“Without any paperwork.”
My eyes light up at the thought. I want to be with him, too. And actually, I wouldn’t mind doing something a little bit more adventurous sexually. I just don’t think I want to put it on paper.
Chapter 5 - Ellie
When night turns into day…
Aiden takes me into his arms and presses his lips to mine.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “It just threw me for a loop a bit.”
“It’s okay, I understand. It’s not for everyone.”
“Can we try something else then?” he asks after a moment.
My heart sinks into my stomach. I’m scared to disappoint him again, but there’s no way I’m going to do anything that I don’t want to do.
“Okay,” I say, tentatively.
Without another word, Aiden takes my hand and leads me to the far end of his stateroom, to his private bathroom.
The bathroom is modern in every sense of the word. Everything is white on white on gray. Contemporary finishes and white stone with sparkling inlays. The large tub at the end of the room, by the bay window, is deep, egg-shaped, and claw footed. It’s one of those old-fashioned tubs which are completely brand new. Aiden leans over and turns on the faucet, which sits comfortably in the middle of the tub. He drops a large bath bomb into the water and the whole room explodes with the aroma of lavender and honey.
Aiden takes off his t-shirt and peels off his tight jeans. When he approaches, I become keenly aware of just how fully dressed I am.
“Will you let me bathe you?” he asks. I take a step back, wrapping my arms around myself as tightly as I can. We have been intimate many times before, and yet this feels like it will be more intimate than anything else that we have done.
“I don’t know,” I say.
“Are you serious?” He laughs.
“I know, it’s silly right?” I shrug. “But…bathe me? Why do you want to bathe me?”
“Because I want to drape your beautiful body with water. I want to see you.”
Shivers run up my spine. He dims the lights until the room is lit up by candlelight. I admire his chiseled physique. Each muscle in his body protrudes with each breath, calling me to him. I press my fingers against his six pack and run them over each individual muscle group.
“Oh, no,” Aiden whispers, pushing my hands back.
“What?”
“You can’t touch me unless you get into the bath.”
“What?” I ask, smiling.
“What’s fair is fair. I want you. And I can tell that you want me, too. But I’m not giving you what you want unless I get a little of what I want.”
I shake my head. Then something occurs to me. I push up my shirt and reveal my stomach. He stares at my midriff until I drop my shirt back down.
“There. You got something.”
Aiden starts to laugh. A deep, bellowing laugh that fills my whole body with joy.
“What? Was that not enough for you?” I ask. He shakes his head and grabs me.
“Hell, no.”
With one swift motion, he throws me gently into the water. It takes me a moment to even realize what has happened.
“Oh my God! I’m wet!”
“More like soaking wet.”
I splash the water at him, but it’s not much of a deterrent. Instead, he simply kneels down next to me and smiles that beautiful smile of his. I laugh as well, as the water seeps into every part of me. My jeans feel incredibly heavy and my shirt clings to every part of me.
“I can’t believe you did that,” I say, pushing my hair to the top of my head and tying a loose knot.
“I love you,” Aiden whispers, brushing some water from my face. “I love you very much.”
“I love you, too.”
“Now that you’re wet, we’re going to have to do something about these clothes.” He tugs at my shirt and pulls it over my head. I consider protesting, but the warm water and his gorgeous body are just too hard to pass up. I give in and let him undress me. Pulling off my jeans proves to be a much harder process, but with a little bit of help from me, he eventually succeeds.
“You should’ve let me undress you when you were dry,” Aiden says.
“Yeah, maybe. But it wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun.”
My bra and panties slip off much more easily and I’m left entirely naked before him. Even though he looks at me with nothing but love and admiration, I am very well aware of my own flaws. Maybe a little bit too aware. There’s the pouch under my belly button that’s a bit too big and my thighs, which could use a little toning. My body is nothing like those his previous dates had - all those models and actresses he bedded. Yet, he barely notices. In fact, he doesn’t seem to notice at all.
“Look at me,” Aiden says, putting his index finger under my chin. “Why the sad face?”
“I’m just a little…uncomfortable,” I say, covering my stomach with my arms. I’m not sure why I’m feeling particularly vulnerable right now. Perhaps, it’s the warm weather and the hot bath - they tend to showcase a lot of imperfections.
“You shouldn’t. You are beautiful and I want to spend my days staring at your gorgeous body.”
I nod and let my arms go. It feels nice to give in and not worry so much. As I move my hands around in the hot water and relax, bubbles finally start to build up from the bath bomb. Within a few moments, the entire tub is filled with effervescent round circles of soap.
“Close your eyes.”
When I do as he says, a stream of hot water rushes down my face. Aiden’s squeezing a sponge over my head. Losing myself in the moment, I lie back in the tub and surrender. Slowly, Aiden dips the sponge under the water and runs it over my neck, breasts and stomach. Carefully, he takes each arm out of the water and runs the sponge over it, back and forth.
“This feels so good.”
“I’m glad.”
A few moments later, he stops. I open my eyes and look up at him with disappointment.
“Oh, I see, you seem to have enjoyed that.”
“Yes, I did.”
“Didn’t you say you didn’t want to get bathed?”
“I guess I was wrong.”
Aiden gives me a brief kiss on the lips before asking, “Mind if I join you?”
I shake my head no.
I move a little to make room, but the tub is so big and deep that there’s plenty of room for both of us.
Aiden lowers himself in front of me. I pick up some water in my hands and run it over his neck, watching it scroll down. He reaches for some body wash behind him and lathers it up in his hands. Then he rubs the soft foam into my shoulders.
I close my eyes. He runs his hands over my breasts, pausing briefly at my nipples. It tickles and I laugh a little.
I take some of the foam off my body and place it on his, rubbing gently as I make my way down his neck and back, submerging my fingers into the water.
I lean toward him and press my lips to his. He pulls me closer. He is in control now and I surrender. I love the feel of his
hands all over me, directing me into whatever direction he wants to take me. He wraps my legs around his and pushes my hair away from my neck.
Shivers run down my spine as he positions my body on top of his. I press my legs tightly to him as he takes my butt into his hands. He smiles and gives me a flirtatious squeeze. Slowly, he lowers me on top of him and pushes himself deep inside. I feel as if my body is being pierced through and I let myself go.
“I love being inside of you,” he whispers as our bodies become one. Intertwined, he presses his lips onto mine and then parts them forcefully with his tongue.
I moan and bury my hands in his hair. I need to be even closer to him. My body starts to move up and down as if on its own. Despite the fact that I have him, I want him. All of him. Our kisses become more frantic. He pulls on my hair with his hands and I moan and toss my head back in ecstasy.
He’s holding me up and guiding my movements. I slide up and down his large cock and my body starts to swell from the pleasure that’s building up in between my legs. When he finds my clit and rubs against it as well, I can’t contain anything within me anymore.
“Aiden!” I moan into his ear. A few moments later, while I’m still riding the high of my climax, he reaches his.
“I…love…you,” he mumbles as he moves faster and faster in and out of me until he finally collapses underneath me.
We sit in the tub, with our bodies intertwined together, until the water turns cold. This actually takes a while since the tub is quite expensive and is made from some material with great insulation.
“I’ve never had sex in the water before,” I say.
“How was it?”
“Perfect.”
The water slowly runs out of heat, and yet both Aiden and I refuse to move a muscle. I don’t know what he’s thinking, but I feel as if I’m under a spell. If I were to make a move to get out, the whole moment would shatter and would make it as if none of this had never happened.
Chapter 6 - Ellie
The answer…
The following morning, I wake up in Aiden’s arms. The light is just peeking through the windows. It’s warm out and we are covered only by a sheet, and that’s enough. I have to pinch myself to make sure that this moment is real. Am I really lying next to the man of my dreams on a beautiful yacht in the middle of the warm Caribbean when it’s below freezing back home?
I look over at him. He’s barely stirring.
“I love you,” I whisper. He smiles without opening his eyes.
“I love you, too,” he mumbles.
I stare at his tan skin and chiseled jaw, waiting for him to wake up. A few moments later, he finally looks at me.
“You know, I can feel you staring at me,” he says.
“I know.”
Aiden stretches his arms above his head and arches his back. The sheet falls to the side, exposing my breasts and his perfect six pack. I run my fingers down his abs and lick my lips.
“You’re going to kill me, woman.”
“Hey, I’m just enjoying the moment. Not instigating anything, right?”
“Yeah, right.” He laughs. “Okay, fine, since you’re up and wide awake, I have something to ask you.”
With one swift motion, he climbs on top of me and cradles my face in between his arms.
“What?”
Aiden pulls the sheet over us, making a little cocoon. Now, we are in our own little world, away from everything that’s horrible and wrong.
“You are the most beautiful woman in the world,” Aiden says. “But that’s not why I want to ask you this.’
“Okay…”
“Ellie, whenever I’m around you, I want to be a better version of myself. You make me want to be a better man. And that’s why I want to ask you to be my wife.”
I stare at him, dumbfounded.
“Will you marry me, Ellie?”
The last time the answer came so easily. I just looked into his eyes and the answer just spilled out. But now? I don’t know why, but I feel myself hesitating. It has nothing to do with the moment. This place, this setting, is perfect. And yet, I can’t bring myself to say yes.
“I don’t know,” I say. Aiden’s mouth drops open in disappointment.
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I mean, I said yes before and then everything just sort of got so complicated and now…now, I don’t know.”
He nods as if he understands, but he doesn’t. I barely understand it myself. I have no idea why I’m saying no except that there’s this voice inside of me that’s telling me that this isn’t right. Not right now. I mean, I love him. I really do. And I want to spend all of my time with him. But I don’t know if I can commit to be his wife. Not yet.
“I don’t know if you know this, but I never really wanted to get married. I mean, little girls grow up imagining what their weddings will be like and where they will go on a honeymoon. But I was never like that. Marriage always felt a little bit like a trap. I mean, I have no problem making a commitment to you. I love you. It’s just the wedding and everything that goes along with it.”
Aiden listens and nods. “Well, just know that there’s no pressure. I mean, we don’t have to have a big ceremony, if that’s what’s freaking you out. We don’t even have to invite anyone if you don’t want to. We can just elope. Or not.”
Hmm, elope. That does sound nice.
“You mean, just go to the courthouse and that’s it?”
He nods.
“Maybe. That does make me feel a little better.” He smiles at me and gives me a warm hug.
“I never thought I wanted to get married again,” Aiden says after a while. “I mean, my first time wasn’t amazing so I was sort of over the whole thing. But then I met you. And it’s not like I want to pin you down to anything. I just want to tell you that I want to be with you. That’s all. Forever. And if that doesn’t mean marriage to you, that’s fine. I’m totally fine with that. I’m happy as long as you want to spend your life with me.”
“I do. Very much so,” I say, giving him a big kiss.
A private ceremony. I never really considered that before, but why not? No big dress, no huge wedding that would make me the center of attention. Now, that sounds more like it.
“I’m not sure Caroline would approve,” I joke.
“Of what?”
“Of a courthouse wedding. She loves lavish parties and any reason to get dressed up. I think she will kill me if we just go to the courthouse in jeans.”
“Well, it’s not her wedding, is it?”
“No, it’s not.”
I sit up in bed and look out at the bright blue ocean outside the balcony. Perhaps, the thing that makes me not want to get married is the party itself. I mean, being with Aiden for the rest of my life? I can make that commitment in a second. It’s a no-brainer. I love him and I want to be with him every waking hour of every day. But hosting a lavish wedding where I am the center of attention? Most women would love that. All eyes on them, celebrating their beauty. But me? No, that’s not my cup of tea. In fact, I usually go out of my way not to have attention on me. That’s why I write under a pseudonym. I like my life private.
“Ellie?”
“Yes?”
“I just want to be with you. For however long you will have me. And if you don’t want to get married, that’s totally fine. And if you change your mind, that’s fine, too. I won’t ask you anymore as long as you promise me one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“That you will stay with me as long as you love me and not a minute longer.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, taken a little aback by this statement.
“I never want to be one of those couples that are together just because they’ve invested too much time in their relationship. I love you. And I believe I always will. I know you love me and I think you always will. But, if for some reason, you suddenly don’t. Like in a year or ten or fifty. It doesn’t matter. If you don’t love me anymore, then I want you to leave
. You deserve to be happy and if that’s not with me, then I want you to go out and find someone you will love with all of your heart. I want you to be happy, Ellie.”
I smile. He presses his lips to mine and I lose myself in the kiss.
Chapter 7 - Ellie
The island…
The following morning, Aiden docks the yacht at the far end of a tiny limestone island called Caye Caulker. Caye is pronounced like Key as in the Florida Keys, but spelled differently. It’s about two miles across, and belongs to Belize, a small nation in Central America of about 300,000 people. Belize is bordered by Guatemala and Mexico to the north and is popular with many American expats because it’s the only English speaking nation south of the United States.
I walk down the wooden dock and admire the sweeping palm trees which bend in the gentle breeze coming off-shore.
“This place is breathtaking,” I whisper as I take off my flip-flops and bury my feet in the white sand. The island is so tiny that there are no proper roads or cars. According to Aiden, the nearby island called Ambergris Caye is much more populated and developed and the main mode of transportation there is the golf cart.
We walk down Front Street, one of the three mains streets, which runs right along the shoreline. Since there are no cars or even golf carts, the only sounds I hear belong to laughing people and chirping birds.
“This place is…amazing,” I say, stopping at one of the booths where a woman in a long floral dress is selling coconut water. Aiden and I order two. She takes the fresh green coconut, puts it on a tree stump, and pulls out a giant machete. With one expert swing, the top of the coconut drops to the ground. She places a straw into the opening and hands it to me.
“This is delicious!” I say, taking another long sip. “I’ve never had fresh coconut water before.”
“Once you have this, you’ll never be able to drink that coconut water they sell in the States again,” Aiden says. “No matter how much they tell you that it’s fresh, you’ll know it isn’t.”
Auctioned to Him_The Contract Page 13
