“Ready?” I picked up her case, carrying it to the trunk of the car.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” she said, walking behind me and climbing into the passenger side.
I had decided we would drive to the airport and leave the car in long term parking. Easier all round.
She put her seat belt on, glancing at me as I climbed into the driver’s side.
“Where are we staying in New York?” She asked as I started the car.
“You’ll find out soon enough,” I replied.
I put the car in gear and we drove off down the track, the ranch getting smaller in the rear-view mirror by the minute. Good bye to Wyoming, again. Just for a little while, this time.
I glanced at Gemma, who was looking straight ahead, a small smile playing around the corners of her mouth. She was looking forward to this trip.
She sure was in for the surprise of her life.
Gemma
I stood on the pavement in New York, craning my neck to see the top of the hotel we were staying in. It was useless; it was so tall it made my head spin.
“We’re staying here?” I couldn’t believe it. It was the fanciest hotel I had ever seen in my life.
“We’re staying here,” he repeated. The bell hop opened the door for us, and I walked into a lobby so swanky it took my breath away.
Elegant cream-colored sofas and armchairs were everywhere, contrasting with the green of the tall pot plants. The goddamn floor was marble, polished so well I could see my face in it as we walked to the reception.
I was glad that I had made an effort, and worn a good dress. There were people everywhere, dressed so well I still felt a bit self-conscious that I would be targeted straight away as a country hick with no sense of style.
I glanced at Lance. He looked casual, but elegant. He obviously knew how to dress for the city. The faded denim jeans and check shirts he had worn at the ranch weren’t going to be seen here, I could tell.
“The reservation is under the name of Starling.” He was talking to the receptionist in a cool manner, like he had done this a million times before. I sometimes forgot he had travelled all over the world – really, Lance was as cosmopolitan as they came.
He was also so goddamn sexy it hurt to look at him.
“Ah, yes.” The receptionist peered into her computer screen. “Two rooms, adjoining?” She looked from Lance to me in a questioning manner.
“Yes, that’s what we want.” Lance didn’t look at me.
She handed two passes to him, smiling widely. There wasn’t a woman alive who could withstand the charm of Lance Starling. She would be tossing her hair back and batting her eyelids if we stayed any longer.
We walked away, toward the elevator.
“Adjoining rooms?” I questioned.
Lance punched the number of the floor we wanted into the elevator. We stood and waited for the doors to open.
As we walked in, he turned to me.
“I wouldn’t want you to get scared in the big city now would I, Miss Gemma?”
I looked at him, shaking my head slightly. But I smiled.
I gasped as we entered the rooms.
Windows dropped from the ceiling to the floor, revealing a breathtaking panorama of the skyline. I walked up to them, staring down at the city laid out like a board game at our feet.
“It’s amazing,” I breathed.
Lance came and stood behind me. I could feel his heat.
“I aim to please,” he said.
He walked away from me, and straight away I wanted him back.
“I’ll leave you to rest,” he was saying now. “I’m going to see to some of that business I was talking about. Be ready in about an hour, I am going to take you shopping for those fancy clothes.”
I swung my head around, dragging my gaze away from the view.
“Where are we going?”
He grinned. “The city is our oyster, Gemma. Wherever you goddamn want.”
I was showered and changed by the time he came back, eager to explore the city.
He took me on a whirlwind tour of it, and then it was time for shopping. I tried on dresses at Sak’s Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdale’s, pinching myself that I was shopping in the most expensive and iconic department stores in New York. It was every girl’s dream.
But we still hadn’t found The Dress. Lance bought me a few things, but he shook his head at a lot of stuff.
“We haven’t found it yet,” he said.
Eventually, at a little designer store, I found it.
It was deceptively simple. A wraparound cocktail dress in midnight blue. But when I saw myself in the mirrors after I tried it on, I gasped. It was made so well it highlighted all the best things about my figure and downplayed the bad.
I walked out of the fitting rooms and stood in front of Lance, who was sitting on a seat waiting for me.
“What do you think?” I twirled slightly, playing it up. I knew it looked good on me.
Lance sat forward, looking at me as if he had never laid eyes on me before. His eyes widened.
“I think we have found it,” he breathed. His eyes raked over me from head to toe. I could feel myself basking in his admiration.
He paid for it, and we left.
“I can pay you back for it,” I said, as we hit the pavement. I was starting to feel a bit guilty. The price of the dress could pay the debt on a small country. Not to mention all the other stuff he had bought for me. Plus the hotel rooms and the plane tickets.
He stopped walking, looking down at me. “Don’t be silly,” he said. “I invited you. I said I wanted to buy you some nice stuff. Don’t think anything more of it.”
We continued walking. Should I let it go, or should I insist? Was he trying to buy me?
Did I care? Should I care? It was wonderful, being treated like a princess. It had never happened to me before.
I had always wanted Jack and I to do something like this, but he was always too busy, away with his work, or when in town, uninterested.
Stop it, I told myself. Leave Jack out of it. Stop thinking of the past, when you are living a dream. With the goddamn sexiest man that had ever walked the planet.
“Don’t stress, Gemma.” Lance must have seen my face betraying my emotions. “I was paid well with the SEALs, and haven’t spent a lot of it. This is my treat, and I’m not thinking that you should pay me back in another way, if that’s your train of thought. Whatever happens on this trip is because you want it.”
The words rested between us like a challenge.
What did I want?
Staring at Lance with the back drop of the city behind him, it was becoming clearer and clearer.
Lance
I couldn’t take my eyes off her, sitting across the table from me that night. She looked so beautiful it almost hurt.
The blue dress I had bought for her was dark against the creaminess of her skin, pushing her bosom up so that it sat before me like a provocation. If I closed my eyes I could be back under the stars in Wyoming with her, feeling those breasts, squeezing them…
I shook my head. Focus, Starling. I picked up my wine glass, raising it to her. She smiled and did the same.
I looked around the restaurant. It was fancy, all right. It had taken me a while to get a reservation here; I had to pull a few strings. But it was worth it to see the look of wonder and delight on her face as we had walked in.
It was one of those places where you laid your napkin on your lap and counted the cutlery to see which you should pick up for which course.
Not really my style. I preferred down home places, where the drinks and food were plentiful and the people were friendly. But I could suffer through it for Gemma.
“You look beautiful,” I told her.
“Thank you,” she responded, blushing slightly. “Lance, this is so wonderful. I can’t thank you enough. I have never been to a place like this before.”
“Well, enjoy,” I said, smiling at her. “Order whatever you want.
Don’t even look at the prices.” She smiled, turning back to the menu.
The food was good, of course, but the portions were so goddamn small I could have licked the plate afterwards. I might be ordering a burger from room service later tonight.
I could tell she was a bit disappointed by that, as well. She looked puzzled.
“It’s barely a mouthful,” she smiled. Then she tasted it, and her eyes rolled back in her head. “But oh, the flavour is definitely there!”
We polished off a bottle of their best wine, then ordered dessert. I got a classic crème brulee, and she ordered something called Poire belle Helene, something I had never heard of.
“It’s pears soaked in sugar and dipped in chocolate,” she smiled.
“Hey,” I put my hands in the air in defeat. “I’m just a cookies and milk kind of guy.”
“That’s okay,” she replied, staring at me with such warmth in her eyes I had to catch my breath.
I could feel the glow from the wine, and could tell she did, too. I felt like grabbing the table cloth and tearing it to the ground, then lunging across the table at her.
There were different types of appetites, after all.
We finished up, and I paid the bill. I had to say I was surprised at how much it was, considering I was still hungry. But I didn’t care. This was for Gemma.
We started to walk out of the restaurant. I could feel the eyes of two women at another table on us.
They weren’t talking softly, and we could hear everything they said as we passed.
“Now, he is gorgeous,” one said to the other, eyeing me. “What on earth is he doing with a woman so big?”
The other woman laughed, staring at us rudely.
I looked at Gemma. Her face told me she had heard everything those women had said.
She turned and ran out of the restaurant, onto the street. I looked at the women. I wanted to give them a piece of my mind. Instead, I ran after her.
She was on the street, looking forlorn.
“Gemma.” I grabbed her, spinning her around to face me. “Don’t pay any attention to those bitches.”
She looked up at me, trying to smile. “I know I’m being silly. I should be used to it.”
“Used to what?” My fingers tightened on her shoulders.
She tried to laugh. “Oh, you know, being made fun of because of my size.”
“Your size?” I looked at her incredulously. “There is nothing wrong with your size! If anyone should be feeling self-conscious about their size, it’s those women. A pair of over made up stick insects, thinking they can lord it over everyone.”
She smiled a bit wider then. “Stick insects? You have a funny way of looking at things, Lance. Those women are the size we are all told we should be.” She paused, looking down at herself. “They rule the world.”
I tilted her face up. “Look at me, Gemma. No, look at me! You are beautiful, I love everything about you. Your size is magnificent, I love a woman who looks like a real woman. Tits and waist and ass. You don’t need to feel inferior around them.”
Her eyes glistened with tears. “You love everything about me?”
Oops. Had I overdone it? Would she run away, defensive and scared?
“I love everything about you,” I repeated, staring into her eyes. It was only the truth.
She sighed deeply, but she said nothing.
“Come on,” I said, grabbing her by the hand. “We’ve been to the fancy restaurant. Now let me take you somewhere I think we can relax just a little more.”
I started pulling her down the street. She didn’t protest.
I took her to a little bar I knew. I had been there a couple of times on leave.
It wasn’t in the district of the fancy restaurant, and it couldn’t be called fancy by any stretch of the imagination. But it was a funky little bar, always hopping. The people were always friendly. I thought she could do with a place like that, after what had happened.
We sat at the bar, and I ordered us some drinks. I looked at her as she sipped hers, and could tell she was mellowing out.
“You know, it’s funny,” she said, turning to me. “I always had this dream of going to a fancy restaurant in a big city and dressing up. But you know what? Sometimes things aren’t what you imagine.”
“Very true,” I said, tilting my whisky toward her. “But you have to try. You never know if you’ve never tried.”
She laughed, finishing her drink. “I don’t think I like places like that restaurant. Too pretentious. The food was great, but I prefer my type of cooking – soul food, big portions made with love. Same as people.” She laughed again, tossing her head back.
“That type of place has never been my scene,” I admitted. “I’ve travelled over the world, but the best places and the best people are the genuine ones. Real people, living their lives in an authentic way, not putting on airs. That’s why I love Wyoming, and the ranch. It’s real.”
I reached out, putting a hand on her knee.
“And so are you,” I whispered. She stared down at my hand, then put her own over it.
The moment froze, seeming to stretch on forever.
I became conscious of the music playing. Jimi Hendrix grinding his sexy guitar.
“It’s your song,” I said. She looked at me, with a question in her eyes.
“Foxy lady,” I explained, smiling broadly.
She blushed, laughing.
“Shall we?” I said, pulling her up from her bar stool.
We danced to the song, a bit drunkenly, laughing the whole time. I had my hands on her hips, feeling the movement of them as they swayed to the music.
It was sexy, and I knew that she could feel my boner as we locked hips.
Suddenly I couldn’t take it anymore. I just wanted to be with her, alone.
“Want to leave?” I whispered into her ear.
She looked up at me, and nodded.
Gemma
Lance led me by the hand from the bar. We hailed a taxi, and left.
The tension was enveloping us like a blanket. We didn’t say a word in the back of that taxi. We just held hands, staring out at the city streets as they whizzed past.
The bell hop opened the hotel door for us, and then we were in the elevator. Suddenly, Lance punched the console, and the elevator lurched to a stop.
“What are you doing?” Had he gone crazy?
He didn’t say a word. He simply grabbed me, pushing me against the wall. I could see our reflection in the mirror opposite.
He bent down, putting his hands on my legs, then snaked them up underneath my dress. I gasped, arching my head back. He really had gone crazy.
He found my panties, and simply pulled them down. I felt the wetness coursing through me.
He took a condom out of his pants pocket, tearing at it recklessly. Then he grabbed me, hitching my dress up. I wound my legs around him.
When he entered me, it felt like nothing I had ever experienced. He was as hard as a rock, and fit inside me like a glove. He pinned me to the wall, and started moving. Oh God, it was divine.
I could see us in the mirror opposite, me pinned with my legs wrapped around him, Lance with his trousers around his ankles and his buttocks grinding into me. It was so goddamn sexy I almost came there and then.
I tried to slow myself, though. It was too good not to.
I could feel him getting close. He pulled the top of my dress down, so that a breast popped out. He latched onto the nipple, sucking and pulling as he ground harder into me. The sucking on my nipple was tilting me over the edge. I wouldn’t be able to last much longer.
Suddenly, he gripped me tighter, sucking hard. He let the nipple pop out of his mouth just as he came, grunting loudly.
My spasms started at the same time. I came so hard I hit my head against the wall of the elevator, but I didn’t even feel it. He slowly released me, and I slid down the wall, dazed.
Sweet Jesus. It had all happened in a matter of moments.
Lance put his arms around me. “How are you feeling?” he whispered, biting my ear. He was covered in a thin sheen of sweat.
“Amazing,” I whispered back. “How on earth did you know that I’ve always wanted to do it in an elevator?”
He laughed. “Intuition,” he growled.
We set our clothing right, then he turned to me. “Ready to keep travelling?”
I nodded, still fogged with the afterglow.
He punched the console, and the elevator started moving upwards again, stopping at the next floor. The door opened, and an older couple stood there, looking puzzled.
“That sure did take a long time,” the woman said to us as they entered.
“We’ve been punching the console for over five minutes,” the man said.
They both looked at us, but we didn’t answer. I could feel laughter bubbling up inside of me, so high that I could barely contain it.
I snuck a peek at Lance, and could see that he was barely holding it together. A grin was twitching at the corners of his mouth. Don’t look at him, I commanded myself, as the laughter threatened to spill out.
Thank God, it was our floor. The doors opened, and we both stepped out, collapsing in laughter against each other as the doors closed on the shocked faces of the couple.
It wouldn’t stop. The laughter kept coming like a stream.
He picked me up, carrying me to the door of the room. He managed to get it open, and he threw me on the bed, collapsing on top of me.
I had never been so happy in my life.
I woke up the next morning to see sunshine streaming through the windows and Lance opening the door to room service. I blinked, trying to shake away sleep.
I glanced down at myself underneath the sheet. Completely naked. I couldn’t remember taking my clothes off.
Oh, yes. That’s right. Lance had taken them off me, before removing his own and sliding into the bed beside me. We had fallen asleep in each other’s arms, still laughing about the couple in the elevator.
Another memory surfaced. In the darkness of pre-dawn, Lance waking me with kisses, the whole length of my body. We had made love slowly, aching for each other. I had fallen asleep again after another mind-blowing orgasm.
Stranded: A Mountain Man Romance Page 24
