Faithful

by Bay, Louise

  “Daniel, I’m not interested—”

  “I need to make sure that I’m all you’re thinking of.” And with that, he thrust into me. “Lean forward,” he said sharply.

  I put my hands against the mirror. He continued to thrust, pushing my shoulders down to meet him. He was so deep inside me, he felt like part of me. There was no doubt he was all I could think of at that moment, this gorgeous man behind me, pounding into me.

  “Look in the mirror, Leah. See what I see.” I saw the desperate pleasure on my face, my hair in disarray around my face. I looked wanton, my body moving in response to what Daniel was doing to me, being forced further and further forward. Daniel hooked his arms under mine and pulled me back toward him.

  The change in position suddenly brought Daniel even deeper into me and I cried out. Daniel grunted in response. I loved how he took pleasure in my pleasure, that my gratification gave him gratification. He was unrelenting, never breaking pace. Bringing my eyes back to the mirror, I met Daniel’s gaze over my shoulder. He looked almost violent, like he was trying to contain himself.

  “You’re not to let anyone else touch you while I’m away, not ever. Do you hear me?”

  I couldn’t respond. I was overtaken my heightening pleasure as he kept hitting that spot so deep inside me.

  “Leah, look at me,” Daniel barked and my eyes found his again.

  “Only you, Daniel,” I said as I came watching him watch me. And I watched as my orgasm brought release to him. My knees weakened and as I slumped against him Daniel scooped me up and walked me over to the bed, lay me down and crawled in behind me.

  “I meant it, you know. I can’t have you touch anyone else while I’m away.” He sounded wounded, like he expected me to fight his request.

  “Daniel, of course not. I love you. I would never even look at another man.” I couldn’t believe this was how he felt.

  “But men look at you all the time, flirt with you, come on to you. I’ve seen it. It’s not that you would be looking for someone, more that they would come looking for you.”

  I turned around to face him and cupped his face in my hands. “Daniel, you make me sound like I’m beating them off with a stick which is just not true. And anyway, I don’t want anyone but you. It’s four days. I would like to say it will go quickly, but I’m not sure it will for me. But my heart won’t wander. I love you.”

  “I love hearing you say that. I was beginning to think you regretted saying it the first time. I love you, too.” He pulled me into his arms putting my head on his chest, and took a deep breath and we fell asleep.

  Still in the haziness of sleep I felt myself begin to waken, that heavy feeling of being deeply relaxed and not quite ready to come around and face the day. My mind wandered to what Daniel had done to my body the previous evening and I reveled in the memory, feeling sensations between my legs that brought me up a level of consciousness. I couldn’t want him again, so soon after last night, but I did. I really couldn’t get enough of him, his touch, his closeness.

  The sensation between my legs intensified and I reached over to Daniel, wanting him, but found an empty space. Then I gasped as I felt his tongue thrust inside me. Daniel was still in bed and between my legs.

  Best. Wakeup call. Ever.

  He replaced his tongue with a finger and continued to lap at my clitoris, circling it, teasing it. I threaded my fingers through his hair, watching him watching me as I writhed against him. He pulled out his finger and I whimpered in disappointment for a second before I was filled up again with a finger from each hand, each working its own direction around my opening, his tongue never faltering. Deep inside my stomach I felt my orgasm build and I thrust my hips upward, desperate for release. I couldn’t believe my body could give me any further pleasure after so much being wrung out of me last night. But that’s what Daniel did to me. He constantly kept me wanting, needing more.

  He crawled up the bed to me. “Hey, stranger.” Daniel looked pleased with himself and kissed me on my forehead.

  “Hey stranger, yourself,” I replied, sated but no longer sleepy. I ran my hands over his chest, loving the feeling of his physical difference from me. Reaching around to cup his buttocks, I pulled him toward me and I felt his hardness press into my thigh.

  “I love that feeling,” I said dreamily.

  “What feeling, baby?”

  “The feeling of your need for me, pressing against me. Knowing you desire me.”

  He pulled away from me, looked at me, and then pushed himself inside me. “All the time, baby. I want you all the time.”

  And he rocked in and out of me, so gently, so slowly and soundlessly that I thought I would burst. I saw him trying to hold back and I whispered, “Please don’t stop yourself. I love that you want to come so quickly. I want you to come right now.” And he shuddered against me and collapsed as my orgasm took me yet again.

  We lay like that for what seemed like hours. Him covering me, pinning me to the bed with his weight.

  Eventually we were going to have to get up. Lunch with the parents. I sighed. Why on earth had I agreed to that? Daniel seemed genuinely excited that they were going to meet me. The last time I’d met Charlie’s parents it had been to tell them about the engagement and it was the beginning of a horrifying set of revelations. That neither he nor they thought I was marriage material, that he didn’t think I was feminine, that he was fucking my friend and had gotten her pregnant … the nightmare flooded back.

  I had brought a number of outfits over from Anna’s for the weekend but none of them felt right.

  “What would you like me to wear?” I asked Daniel, feeling unsure about everything. I didn’t know whether his parents were formal, relaxed. This was all too much.

  “Wear what you want to wear,” he replied.

  “I have no idea what they will be expecting, Daniel. You need to help me out!” I was increasingly anxious.

  Daniel turned away from what he was doing and captured me in a hug. I tried to push him away but he just pulled me toward him like I was a child having a tantrum.

  “Leah, they are not interesting in what you are wearing. They are interested in you, not your clothes. Lunch is at their place, probably in the garden, and my brother and his wife might come. Everyone will be very casual, but if you want to wear a ball gown, it’s all good.”

  “So jeans are fine?” I asked his chest, feeling more than idiotic.

  “Jeans are fine. It’s what I’m wearing.”

  I managed to suppress my anxiety enough to get in the car at least. I insisted we stop on the way to pick up some flowers and some wine. Daniel tried to argue with me, but relented when I started getting worked up. The drive into Hertfordshire would take us just over an hour—plenty of time to wind myself up again. Daniel did his best to distract me, and it worked. He seemed to regress to about 17, insisting that we play Red Hot Chili Peppers at full volume and yell-sing along. Daniel seemed to know every song word for word—I enjoyed watching him sing as if his life depended on it. He was so playful and cute you would never know he was responsible for a multi-million dollar empire.

  As we arrived at his parents’ house, I gathered myself and took a deep breath. As we drove up to the modest but very comfortable detached family home, the front door opened and out bobbed a chocolate Labrador, and then a golden Labrador, followed by a very handsome woman dressed in slim-fit cropped trousers and a t-shirt. She called to the dogs to encourage them out of the way so we didn’t run them over.

  “Oh, I love labs! What are their names?” I wanted to get out of the car to greet them with as much enthusiasm as they seemed to have for our arrival.

  “Headley and Baxendale,” Daniel replied.

  “Are you serious?”

  “Yeah, my Dad named them—it’s some legal case isn’t it? You know he’s a lawyer right?”

  I started laughing—how cute and how completely geeky! I loved it. Headley v. Baxendale was a case that you learned in your first term at university
. It wasn’t well known outside the legal profession, but it was one of the most important cases in the history of contract law. My nerves disappeared. This family seemed very unselfconscious.

  Daniel’s mother greeted me in a big bear hug like a long-lost daughter. His dad followed his mother out and Daniel and his dad had a quick, manly hug, which was adorable. Then we swapped parents and the hugging continued. Daniel seemed so pleased to be with them; he was beaming—flitting his gaze between them and me, his eyes excitedly dancing among us all. He parents were equally happy and after Headley and Baxendale had been given all the attention they needed we all headed inside.

  Inside there was a glass of Prosecco waiting for us—always the sign of a friendly household!—together with Daniel’s brother and his wife. Gosh, I was right in at the deep end. Edward and Polly were as delightful as Daniel’s parents, however, and Edward started baiting Daniel from the moment we walked in. Daniel’s mother, Gwen, ushered the four of us outside with the dogs so she could finish preparing lunch with Daniel’s dad.

  “So, I hope Daniel’s treating you as he should—he is famous for his bad behavior,” Edward teased me.

  “Bad behavior?” Daniel interrupted incredulously. “I’m not the black sheep of the family, Edward. You are! Have you still not made partner yet?” Apparently Edward took after his father and was also a City lawyer.

  Edward ignored him. “I hope he’s not trying to take advantage of you. He’s a bit of a cad.”

  Daniel pouted and grabbed my hand. “Leah, he’s being sarcastic because I got married so young. Edward, stop winding her up.”

  “Daniel would never try and take advantage—neither of us believes in sex before marriage.” I deadpanned.

  If only Edward knew about his brother’s voracious sexual appetite and the fact he had given me more orgasms in the short time we had been together than I had ever had in my life. Daniel pulled me in and kissed me, the sort of kiss that was a prelude to hot, sweaty sex. I pushed him away–I was not into PDA, especially in front of newly introduced family! Daniel, Edward, and Polly just laughed and we all took our seats at the enormous outdoor dining table.

  Polly offered to take me on a tour of the garden, I quickly agreed, wanting to see where Daniel had played as a child. As we walked and admired the garden, Polly asked about me and Daniel. I kinda guessed that was the main purpose of our walk from her perspective—girl talk. I was hoping to glean some insight myself. I explained how we had reconnected on LinkedIn and how I was at the end of my relationship but was still a bit bruised. I didn’t mention the engagement—if you could really call it that—or the fact that Charlie was sleeping with a friend. It genuinely didn’t seem important.

  A lot of things came out that I hadn’t really pieced together before, not even in my own head. I explained that in many ways I was trying to take it slowly with Daniel but I felt I was pulling against an overwhelming force. It didn’t make sense, and any outsider looking in would say it was way too soon since Charlie, but it felt right. Polly seemed genuinely delighted at Daniel being with someone. She said she hadn’t known Georgina when she and Daniel had been married.

  “They seem to be genuinely very amicable with each other. I guess it doesn’t hurt that Daniel was very generous in the divorce settlement, from what Edward told me. But that’s Daniel. I think he felt responsible for the split.”

  “I thought she had initiated it.” I shouldn’t be prying, but of course I wanted to know what happened. I wanted to know everything about Daniel.

  “Oh, she did. But they married before Daniel had built his business, and that’s where his head was during their marriage—in his business. Georgina was convinced he was cheating at various points because he worked such long hours and spent so much time traveling. He just wasn’t focused on her or their relationship—it was all about the business for him, from what Edward says.” He never mentioned that Georgina thought he was cheating. Is that the sort of thing you mention to your new girlfriend? I guess not.

  “He’s more balanced now, I think. He’s established himself and maybe he learned his lesson with the divorce. He was devastated, apparently.” I nodded again. “Which is why it is so lovely to see him so happy with you.” I smiled.

  I felt a sudden pang of guilt for talking about Daniel behind his back. I didn’t ask for the information, but I certainly hadn’t tried to change the subject. What was most comforting was how much of it I already knew. Daniel himself had told me most of what Polly said.

  We wandered back to the gazebo where Daniel and Edward were watching us. Everyone had moved on from Prosecco to beer. As we reached the patio, a worried look overtook Daniel’s face. I bent down to kiss him, hoping to reassure him that there was nothing to worry about—nothing Polly said had freaked me out. I could see him relax and I pulled my chair closer to him before I sat down.

  Gwen let me help clear the empty plates from the table. It also gave us a little time for some one-on-one time. While we were loading the dishwasher and putting the leftovers in the fridge, she quizzed me a bit about my job and my family, even whether or not I saw myself with children. I found myself being completely open with her. She probed in such a gentle, non-threatening way that I hardly noticed. By the end of our conversation she probably knew more about me than many people I’d known for years! Eventually Daniel came in to see what kept us and dragged us both back out to the garden.

  Edward and Daniel continued to tease and bait each other, both reverting to the teenagers they would have been when they lived in this house. Gwen lovingly admonished them for their bickering and back and forth, and their father just ignored it. They were such a genuinely happy family that it made me nostalgic for something I’d never had. My parents were not unhappy people, but neither were they as full of life as Daniel’s were. As an only child, and a girl, there was just a lot less noise in our house. Daniel’s life was charmed and in the nicest possible way. I envied him.

  “So, I’ve not mentioned grandchildren for the entire afternoon. I think I’ve been very contained, but Edward, are you ever going to get on with it?” Gwen suddenly blurted out and everyone laughed. But then her eyes shot to Daniel. “And don’t think I’m not going to come after you, too, Daniel.”

  Daniel groaned. “Mum, I spend a lot of time trying not to freak Leah out, and you go and say something like that? You are really not helping!”

  I squeezed Daniel’s hand. “It’s OK. I’m not freaking out.”

  Daniel looked at me intently, trying to see if I was faking it. I laughed at him and looked away.

  “Convince her to move in with me first, Mum.” Clearly Daniel saw an opportunity to push his luck.

  I excused myself to the restroom. I needed to contain the anxiety that just hit me. Did he just suggest living with each other?

  When I came out of the restroom, Daniel was waiting outside.

  “Sorry, baby.” He looked at me sheepishly and pulled me into him.

  “You don’t need to be sorry.”

  “I don’t?”

  “You don’t.”

  “What? So … what? Does that mean you’ll move in with me?” I laughed and pulled him closer to me.

  “No, I’m not moving in with you, Daniel. We’ve been seeing each other five minutes. But I’m not freaking out, either. So maybe one day.”

  Daniel kissed the top of my head. “One day, soon.” I laughed and we went back outside.

  Daniel’s parents did their best to try and convince us to stay over until the following morning, but I wanted Daniel to myself on our last evening together for three days and four long nights, and Daniel seemed to feel the same way. He promised his parents that we would stay on our next visit.

  Daniel’s buoyant, playful mood continued all evening. We opened some wine when we got back and he put on Luther Vandross and made me dance with him. When we finally sunk into bed, we were both too hazy with wine and tired from a wonderful day to do anything but sleep.

  Daniel made up for an
evening without sex the next morning. Managing to awake before him, I quickly brushed my teeth and wiped off the mascara under my eyes. When I slipped back into bed, he kissed me from my forehead right down my body, not missing an inch of me. He turned me over and back, lifted one arm and then other, as if I were a science experiment.

  When he was done I escaped from under him and pushed him back on the bed. I meant business and had no intention of wasting any one of the moments I had with him. I knelt between his legs and took him in my mouth, giving him the second blowjob of my life. When he’d come deep inside me, I turned him over to his side toward me and let him sleep. After about half an hour of watching his shallow breath raise and lower his defined abs, I woke him, selfishly wanting him inside me before he left.

  Despite my protestations, Daniel left me with a key to his house. My plan was to pack up my things and head back to Anna’s once he left, but he insisted he give me a key anyway. He said it wasn’t just for while he was away—he wanted me to start feeling at home in his home. He showed me where he cleared out some space for my things in his wardrobes. It may have all been too much for me a couple of days ago, but the fact that he was leaving, even if only for a short time, somehow made it OK. I needed some kind of reassurance of his commitment to me.

  Daniel’s driver was dropping him at the airport, so after a thousand kisses and a million reassurances that we would speak each day, I peeled myself off him and pushed him out the door, standing on the step while I watched the car pull out.

  I felt horrible as soon as I closed the door. A big lump of darkness at the pit of my stomach I went back upstairs and started to pack up my things. I hung up a dress I from my case in the wardrobe and fished out a pair of flip-flops to leave beneath it. It was a start.

  So I was ready to go. I could call myself a cab. It was the last thing I wanted to do so I climbed back into bed, and pulled Daniel’s pillow to me and breathed him in.

  Chapter Fourteen