by Leah Leonard
Cindy couldn’t help gasping at the sight of them. They were obviously quite expensive.
“Oh my, Erick, you shouldn’t have.”
“That’s exactly why I did, my darling. May I?”
He reached out and slipped the necklace tenderly around her neck, following it up with a kiss behind each ear that sent chills up and down Cindy’s spine.
“Thanks….”
Cindy could barely utter the words as he reached for her slender wrist and put the bracelet on it, running his tongue up the tender part of her arm and back to her neck.
Last, he slipped the stunning ring on her right hand. It was a fine complement to the wedding ring occupying her left hand.
“Now you’re ready to go.”
He kissed her deeply before spinning her around to the closet mirror, wrapping his arms around her, and putting his cheek next to hers so she could smell the musky cologne she loved on him. They were certainly a striking couple; even Cindy saw that now. She felt sure everyone must notice it, too, whenthey were together.
“Thank you, Erick; I just don’t know what else to say.”
“Say you’re ready to go and we will be off to the special surprise I have planned.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
They opened the door and stepped into the hallway and Erick took two steps and stopped, got his card key out and opened his door. Cindy had not yet been in his suite so she assumed it best to wait in the hall for him.
“Did you forget something?”
“No, close your eyes a minute, will you?”
Cindy did as he asked and soon felt his warm, strong hands clutching her forearms as he pushed her and she fought him.
“Trust me. Just walk, will you? I promise I have you and you won’t fall or anything.”
“Okay.”
Cindy took about five steps when Erick released her arms and wrapped himself instead around her waist.
“Open your eyes, princess…”
The first thing she saw was the elegantly dressed men with the guitars and violins who began to play a sweet soft melody the instant her eyes opened.
Then there was the elegantly adorned table, complete with white orchids, fine china and candlelight. Cindy gasped and the sheer beauty of the place caused tears to well up in her eyes.
“Oh Erick, it’s beautiful. So, so beautiful.”
“The event isn’t until later, and I was tired of running in to people we know around town, so I thought private night at home would be in order, Mrs. Redmund.”
Cindy turned around and wrapped her arms around Erick, kissing his lips.
“Thank you. I love it.”
The music played as the waiter came and helped Cindy to her chair and she and Erick held hands as wine was served and they looked out into the sunset and the night sky that quickly replaced the daylight.
“Dinner is served.”
The waiter brought out two separate plates, much to Cindy’s surprise. She was expecting another hand held meal, but instead, was thrilled to see what was in front of her.
“Steak!”
“Yes, I thought we needed to bring a bit of the States back to the occasion, don’t you think? I thought you might be getting a bit tired of eating couscous with your fingers. I know I was.”
“Honestly, I was craving something like this for days. The food is wonderful, don’t get me wrong, but you know….”
“Don’t worry about it, you and I both needed a good grilled piece of beef, believe me. I thought it would be a welcome change, especially since we’re here by ourselves tonight.”
Cindy stared at him for a moment and picked up her wine glass and held it up in the light.
“To you, for always knowing just the right things to say and do.”
“No—to you, for being the right thing for me.”
They both sipped and cut eagerly into their steaks.
“You like?”
“Very much. And you?”
“I love it.”
The way he was looking at her made Cindy wonder if he was talking about the meal or something else, but she continued to eat quietly and enjoy the lovely music.
After dinner they walked outside, where dessert was served on Erick’s private balcony. As Cindy got up and started looking around, she couldn’t help but notice his suite was twice the size of hers. She was impressed by the grandeur of the place. She though hers was good enough, but this place seemed like a palace to her.
“Hey, by the way, you never told me you had all this in here.”
Cindy’s eyes scanned the room from floor to ceiling, taking in every single detail of the spacious and richly decorated surroundings with an unobstructed view of the entire valley.
“Uh, hello! How many times did I ask you to open the door between our rooms and come in?”
“A couple, I suppose.”
“You’re right, but you never took me up on it now, did you?”
“No, I guess I didn’t. Shame on me for missing out, I guess.”
Erick poured her a glass of champagne.
“A toast.”
“And to what are we toasting this time?”
Cindy took the champagne flute from him and held it to her lips.
“To our wonderfully blissful marriage.”
Cindy laughed as she sipped.
“I’ll drink to that.”
Erick looked like he wanted to tease her but somehow couldn’t as he stared into her eyes with a serious look on his face. “I am really enjoying this.”
“Me, too. I wish it never had to end.”
“That makes two of us.”
He sipped again as the waiter came to remove the dishes. The last edge of the sun dipped completely out of sight and darkness fell over the valley; only the stars illuminated the night sky.
“Another toast. To you, the best traveling companion…and wife…I’ve ever had! The only wife I’ve ever had, actually.”
Cindy raised her glass to him.
“No, to you. To the fairy tale I never knew existed...until now, that is.”
Erick reached out to her now, kissing her tenderly on the lips as a cellist played a sweet melody. Breaking apart, they stared into the candlelight and she wished this time would go on forever.
“Do you still want to go dancing?”
Cindy had to admit she wouldn’t mind skipping it, but told herself seeing something like this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“Yeah, I do, kind of; do you?”
“There are many things I want to do…but they can wait for just a while longer.”
They quickly finished dinner and went downstairs to the ballroom which was elaborately decorated in silver and gold. Every gown was perfect, every hairstyle perfectly formed. To Cindy, it was like a dream.
“Would you like to dance?”
“I, uh…”
“What?”
Cindy looked out into the crowd and saw how gracefully they all seemed to glide across the floor. She hated to have to admit she’d never learned to dance at all, let alone like that.
“I don’t know how.”
“To dance?”
Cindy nodded, sure Erick would think she was silly.
“That’s no problem. Come on, I’ll show you.”
He took her hand and led her to the outside edge of the dance floor.
“This is the waltz. It’s not as hard as it looks. Put your hand here, that’s it…and your other hand in mine. There you go. Now the step goes one two three, one two three, one two three, like that.”
Erick led her around and within moments Cindy had the basics down and they slowly danced around the entire floor. She loved the way she felt in his arms and how he led her to exactly where he wanted her to go, all the while making her look as though she knew exactly what she was doing. Soon, even she felt like she was becoming a dancer.
“This is so much fun, Erick. I love it.”
Erick only smiled and kept on with his counting, mouthing the num
ber of each step silently as he guided her around the room.
“You are really getting the hang of this! I think you’re destined to become a ballroom dancer yet!”
“I have the best teacher, that’s why!”
“My father made me take those silly ballroom lessons as a child as part of what he called my cultural upbringing, but now that it is finally making a comeback in the popular culture, I’m glad I learned it way back when.”
“Me, too.”
After sitting for another short ceremony and enjoying a second rich chocolate dessert, the night was soon drawing to a close and Erick took Cindy by the hand and they went back upstairs and stood in the hallway outside their two rooms.
“Can I interest you in a visit now that you’ve been by once, or are you too tired?”
Cindy answered by reaching out to him and planting a huge kiss on his lips. She heard him roar under her touch and obviously took that as a cue to open his door, sweep her up off her feet and carry her inside the gigantic suite into the separate bedroom where he lay her down on the bed.
He jumped on her and caressed every bare part of her skin with his mouth as he reached to the back of the gown and unhooked it, pulling the gown open to allow her bare breasts to fall into his hands and mouth.
Cindy reached out for Erick’s belt and ran an eager hand down his zipper until it was fully open, quickly releasing him so she was able to feel what was inside.
Erick gently slid her copper gown off her body, then backed away.
“That sure is some sexy lacy underwear. Too bad it has to go now.”
It took only a moment for Erick to begin sliding it off her with his teeth to Cindy’s appreciative moans of pleasure, which strengthened as he moved in to the tender folds between her legs.
“Oh, Erick, that’s amazing.”
When she finally succumbed to his touch, Erick moved quickly toward her, replacing his mouth with the hardest part of his anatomy as they finally merged into one, both gasping in pleasure.
“Cindy, my Cindy!”
That moment they connected was transformational for them both. They stared into each other’s eyes and Erick told Cindy something he never imagined he would say to any woman: “I love you.”
Cindy was surprised by the sincerity of his words and how far they’d come in such a short period of time, and for once she was no longer guarded toward him. The time they’d spent together today and the feelings she was having in both mind and body were too profound to be anything but love.
“I love you, too.”
As the night passed into daylight, Cindy and Erick joined three more times before finally collapsing peacefully into each others arms, holding each other until the sun came fully up over the horizon.
That morning when Cindy opened her eyes and felt Erick’s strong arms around her, she finally knew exactly where she was for the first time since leaving the country several days earlier. With Erick, Cindy was exactly where she was supposed to be; she was sure of it.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Erick, darling!”
A tall, willowy brunette in a black, spaghetti-strapped sequin designer gown walked up to Erick and threw her arms around him.
“Petra? Is that you? I’ve heard about your success in film. Congratulations!”
Erick he reached his arms out to embrace his old friend and beamed at her, unable to believe she was here.
After their beautiful night of lovemaking and a leisurely lunch together, Cindy was back in the spa and Erick was unwinding near the poolside bar when he stumbled upon several celebrities, including the internationally renowned Petra.
“Ah, I’ve heard about your successes as well, darling. How have you been?”
Petra kissed each of Erick’s checks before planting another on his lips just in time for a camera to come up and start shooting photos. Shortly thereafter, a reporter from Entertainment Tonight stuck a mic in Erick’s face.
“We’re here at the International Film Festival in Marrakech with foreign film icon Petra and her…date….Hollywood bad boy Erick Redmund. Erick, how are you enjoying the festival so far?”
Damn it, this is the last thing I need. Why the hell couldn’t these people leave well enough alone?
Erick’s mind instantly flashed back to his last run in with the paparazzi television magazine when he was caught in a compromising position with an adult film star. That little incident led to his most recent appearance in the National Enquirer and was what got his father so angry with him in the first place.
Besides that, one of his favorite girlfriends at the time dumped him instantly when she saw it, and the worst thing about it was he wasn’t doing a thing with the woman but talking.
Of all the bad luck and all the times he really had been behaving poorly, of which there were too many to name, the one time he was actually innocent, he was caught. Now here they were again, nosy reporters sticking cameras in his face over nothing, and Erick knew nothing good could come from it.
Petra and Erick were good friends. They met in Hollywood years earlier when the Greek-born Petra was there making connections, trying to launch her film career. She ultimately found greater fame by returning to her roots and was now one of the top up-and-coming Greek movie stars.
Her beauty was known throughout the world, and she quickly became an international spokesperson for L’Oreal and other top cosmetics lines. It was no wonder since she was a total knockout with long legs and arms, olive skin, high cheekbones and a perfect body. Her teeth glistened like pearls and her eyes shimmered like black diamonds.
Although his first instinct was to punch this nosy reporter in the face or put his palm over the camera lens, Erick also knew only too well how damaging that could be. Instead, he put on his best phony smile and answered the question as calmly as possible.
“I’m enjoying it.”
It was a stupid answer to an even more ridiculous question, but Erick knew from past experience that if he said too much it would most likely backfire on him, and if he was rude or said too little, that could only make matters worse.
The prying reporter stood millimeters away from Petra, putting the mic right up to her mouth.
“So are you two an item?”
Petra reached out and grabbed Erick, pulling him around to her as she offered him her perfectly formed luscious lips for a deep sensual kiss, all caught on tape. “Does that answer your question?”
Petra let go of Erick, practically pushing him away like a vampire who had finally filled from the hunt. Then she wiped the wet kiss from her mouth, smearing her blood red lipstick on her forearm as she laughed and teased the paparazzi with her famous pouty, mischievous mouth.
The instant Erick regained his footing, he knew something that felt so good must be bad, and that he was bound to be in big trouble from someone for what just happened. Why was it that every time he was simply minding his own business, things like this happened to him? It was annoying as hell! He wanted nothing more than to erase the past five minutes or so from his life’s record, although he knew it wasn’t possible.
Damn it.
Petra leaned against the marble bar, looking at him as she took the last sip of her drink.
“I am so sick of these people. I wanted to give them something to talk about. It’s all in good fun anyway.”
Petra laughed as the camera went to find someone else to torment.
“Well, you certainly did that. Can I buy you another?”
“Yes, darling, or course you can.”
The bartender served the drinks and Erick downed his quickly, hoping it could erase the past couple of minutes from his mind so he could get back to enjoying the company of an old friend. But despite his best efforts, Erick couldn’t stop thinking about it. He sent up a silent prayer that his father wouldn’t be watching TV tonight.
Now that the celebrity gossip mongers obviously had their sexy sound bite for the night, Erick was finally able to carry on his private conversation with Petra.<
br />
“You look gorgeous. I could never figure out why you weren’t big in movies in our country. I know lots of people who would love to see you on the silver screen.”
“You are kind, as always, Erick, but my career is going fine and I am in love. I don’t want them to know about him though, you know? I want to keep it safe, private, to myself.”
“That’s great, Petra.”
Erick knew full well what she meant. The media could crush love faster than a tin can and with about as much afterthought. They didn’t care about the lives they destroyed in the process, either, as long as they had the scoop at the end of the day.
“That makes two of us. I’m in love too!”
“Fabulous! Tell me all about her.”
“She’s…beautiful, wonderful, sweet…what more can I say?”
“Why, Erick! I don’t think I’ve ever heard you talk about anyone this way ever before. How did you meet?”
“We met here, as a matter-of-fact. On a blind date. She’s masquerading as my wife.”
“Wife? You? That is funny!”
Erick’s mind drifted back to the tender moments of last night and this morning, to the walk through the town center yesterday afternoon and the desert camel rides. He couldn’t wait to see her again.
“Yes, she’s my…wife…I think I want to make that a permanent situation, Petra.”
“You mean you want to marry her?”
Erick nodded and sipped the martini she handed him.
“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. She’s a wonderful woman, the best I’ve ever known.”
Petra laughed, which didn’t make Erick feel any better. “Yes, I’m sure, but you, Erick? Married? I just cannot imagine it.”
“Look, I know I have quite the reputation, okay? I’m not trying to apologize for it or make any excuses either, but I do love this girl and yes, I am serious about marrying her. I want to marry her.”
Erick smiled and felt a warmth move through him the more he talked about marrying Cindy. He was beginning to realize she was the best thing to ever happen to him. Ever.
Chapter Twenty-Four
