by Sierra Rose
The air was warm and smelled strongly of the flowers growing just below in the garden. I took a huge sniff, and without thinking, slipped my hand into his. His eyes flickered down for a second before he stared up again with a little sigh.
“What’s the matter?” I asked softly, wondering at his pensive expression.
A faint smile ghosted across his face as the breeze swept his hair back off his forehead.
“I’m not ready for all this to end.”
The confession took me by surprise. But what surprised me even more was my reply.
“Neither am I.”
It was true. Somewhere, in the midst of pretending to fall for a billionaire, I had started actually falling. There was no point in denying it. No reason to act like it was anything other than what it was.
A real relationship.
With a soft sigh, I leaned my head against his shoulder. His arm came up around me, and he held me tight against his chest, resting his cheek against my hair.
“Are you cold?” he asked after a while, rubbing the side of my arm.
I shook my head, staring out at the oversized moon resting on the distant waves. It was like a whole different world up here. A place where everything else simply fell away, leaving you to quietly ponder where the hell you stood in this disjointed, fantastical universe. We sat and talk for an hour when suddenly he went quiet.
“What are you thinking about?” I asked softly, after sitting quietly for a long while.
He paused for a second, holding me tight against his side, and then said the last thing in the world I was expecting to hear.
“How much I really want to make love to you.”
Chapter 14
Quiet as a mouse, Marcus took my hand and we tiptoed across the roof, climbing over the window frame and landing back inside the house. The darkness provided a blanket of cover, shielding our flushed faces and wild eyes as he led me slowly across the floor.
He wrapped his strong arms around me. I was dying to feel his body against mine, skin to skin, for so long. He slid his fingertips deeper into my hair, kissing me passionately.
Turned out, his bed was even bigger than mine.
When we got to the edge of the mattress, he tugged me suddenly toward him. His hands came down over my back as he tilted his head to whisper in my ear.
“The way you look at me, it ravishes me. It’s a power I can no longer resist.”
I touched his face. “I tried, but I can’t stop thinking about you.”
“I can’t either. You take my breath away, Becca.”
“I just want something meaningful. If that’s not what you’re looking for, then just tell me to leave,” I said.
A little off-balanced by his sudden hesitation, I leaned back to look up at him and saw his eyes searching mine desperately in the darkness, brimming with some uncertain emotion.
“I don’t want to be something you regret,” I said.
He brushed my hair away from my face and placed it behind my ear.
“Why would you ever say that?” he asked, his fingers sliding down my back.
The words were echoes of my abrupt departure when I’d left him on the island, and the pain they’d caused was suddenly clear. He was feeling as mixed up about this as I was. The cool façade, the man who was always in control—he was flailing just as much as the rest of us, trying desperately to grasp hold of something steady. Of something real.
My mind flashed back to the night at the Santa Monica Pier, the thousand lingering looks and chaste kisses on the cheek, the happy couple strolling along the beach in the Caribbean, and Marcus and me coming together for the first time and kissing in the waves.
And I suddenly realized, without a shadow of a doubt, how long I’d wanted to do this.
How much I wanted to do this.
He softly kissed me on the lips. And those lips…they were so sweet, so soft, so perfect.
“I can stop thinking of you,” he said,” I can’t stop dreaming about you, wanting you, and needing you. All I know is that I desperately need you in my life.”
With a sweet smile, I reached out and wound my fingers through his windswept hair. He leaned into the touch, but kept a careful distance, still watching me with those beautiful eyes.
“I could never regret this,” he said.
The words were as much an affirmation to me as they were to him, and hearing them aloud, a sudden feeling of lightness flooded my entire body.
A similar look of relief brightened all of his features. His face grew abruptly tender, and his eyes grew heated at the same time. Without another word, he pulled us together.
There was a muted urgency as his hands slipped under my thin camisole, a quiet desperation that came from waiting so confused, so long. He pulled it up and over my head and tossed it on the floor, eyes flickering down across my pale skin before his fingers found my drawstrings. I smiled as he slowly slid my pants off. He kissed me harder as I unbuttoned his jeans. Anything he wanted, I knew I would do for him. I pulled his pants down. I just wanted to touch him, to feel his skin against mine.
He caressed my cheek ever so softly. “Can’t you see? I’m falling in love with you, Bex.”
“I’m falling in love with you too,” I said.
Kisses trailed from my ear to my shoulder, and then back up again. I couldn’t get enough of his warm, moist, sweet, and sensual kisses.
“I love kissing you,” I said.
“I want to make you my real girlfriend.”
Tears welled up in my eyes as his lips brushed mine.
I ran my hands through his hair as I kissed him deeply. He groaned and I could feel how aroused he’d become. My hard nipples brushed against his muscular chest, sending a warm ache throughout my entire body. My fingers trailed across his broad shoulders and powerful chest. I moaned as he cupped and caressed the gentle curves of my breasts. He took my nipple in his mouth and sucked as we both breathed heavily; then he kissed the other one.
We kissed some more and his kisses turned hot and urgent. My body came alive from his very touch. I loved the way his hands moved across my skin, so sensual, so delicate, so intimate.
He slid the lace straps of my underwear slowly, teasingly down my hips. His mouth came down to mine, and we kissed, long and wet. For the first time since the beach, we were completely uninhibited, exploring each other with heated curiosity as our arms and legs frantically intertwined.
I was straddling him now, streaked in random lines of moonlight as my fingers rested on the elastic band around his waist. I slowly pulled them off, dropping them on the floor and reclaiming my place on top of him. There was nothing between us now. No fabric, no hesitations. His breath caught in his chest, and he wrapped his fingers around my hips, silently urging me to start moving. But even though there had been weeks and weeks of subtle foreplay leading up to this moment, I wasn’t quite through playing with him yet.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Taylor,” I leaned down and hungrily kissed him on the stomach, “was there something you wanted?”
His body tightened and rocked beneath me, but still, I pulled away.
“I don’t know what you were expecting to happen here,” I frowned, “but I was assured that this is strictly platonic.”
“Not anymore,” he said.
My fingers dipped down between my thighs, and I took him in my hand, stroking casually up and down.
His head fell back against the pillows and he bit his lip to keep quiet. A sparkling, almost pleading smile played around the corners of his lips, but as he took my hips again to move me into position, I playfully swatted away his hands.
“What kind of message would it send if I went back on my word now?” I mused thoughtfully. My hand started moving much faster and he closed his eyes with a little moan. “I don’t want to be seen as weak or inconsistent.” Without breaking my rhythm, I leaned forward suddenly and bit him playfully on the collarbone.
His eyes snapped open with a gasp, dilated and hungry. With no furt
her warning, he flipped us around, shaking with silent laughter as he leaned me back on the pillows.
“I’ve never been more turned on by anyone.” He raked back his hair and grinned, curving over me as he positioned himself swiftly between my legs. “I’ve waited almost a month now, Rebecca. I cannot wait a second longer.”
With no further ado, he pulled himself into me. My eyes snapped shut, and I gasped from the sheer force of it, arching my body up to meet him as I clung to his shoulders. I shivered as his naked skin glided against mine.
There was no talking after that. No teasing, no words. Just the sound of our frantic breathing as our bodies fell into a quick, tantalizing rhythm.
I had never had sex like it before. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t just go out and have random sex with people I didn’t know—I’d been in several long-standing relationships. It’s just…I’d never felt about any of them the way I was feeling about Marcus.
I felt like I knew him. Despite that fact that I could probably tell you fewer concrete details about his life than anyone else, I still knew him. And he knew me.
We could predict each other. Sense each other’s moods and finish each other’s thoughts before we were aware of them ourselves.
And let me tell you…that level of connectivity, made for a rather fucking unforgettable time in bed.
I didn’t have an ounce of energy left in me as we finally collapsed against each other, burying our faces in each other’s necks to stifle the sound. While I was thrilled with our efforts, I didn’t think the waitstaff, sleeping in the rooms directly below, would be so delighted.
Still panting, Marcus rolled off of me and lay on the mattress at my side, winding his fingers affectionately through mine. I glanced toward him as he brought my hand to his lips and gave it a tender kiss. Our eyes met in the sudden stillness and he smiled.
“Your verdict?” I teased, wriggling around until I was nestled against his side.
He brought his arm up around me and hugged me to his chest with a grin. “Well worth the wait, Miss White.” He kissed the top of my head. “Well worth the wait.”
I closed my eyes and pressed my face against his chest, secretly thrilled at his words. Tales of his international debauchery had lingered just beneath the surface of almost every social conversation we’d found ourselves in since we’d met. I’d hate to think I didn’t measure up.
“Wanna drink?” he asked softly, stroking back my hair.
“Yeah, that would be great.”
“Water?”
“Yeah, thanks.”
He got up and walked naked to the bathroom, tripping in the darkness over our fallen clothes. I sat up against the pillows with a small smile and enjoyed the view. Between his jet-setting and all the time he spent at work, I had no idea how he had a body like that. It was the kind of thing you’d see in a magazine, not in your bedroom going to get you water.
“You know,” he grinned as he returned with two cups, “it hurts when you objectify me like that.”
I took a huge gulp. “I’m sorry, was I thinking too loud?”
He slipped into bed beside me and wrapped an arm around my waist. “I just don’t want you to think of me as a piece of meat now that I’ve ‘given it up’.” He flashed me a look of false modesty and I laughed aloud.
“Oh no—I’d never assume you’d be so easy. All I had to do was walk around in a bikini and shoot you a few flirty smiles.”
I started to kiss his chest and run my tongue down his body.
He flashed me a devilish wink. “Are you trying to turn me on?”
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
He considered for a moment, then shook his head. “You’re in my house, my bed, my rules. We go again this instant.”
We went for Round Two. And I saw nothing but fireworks.
When we finally calmed down, Marcus gathered me back up in his arms, and I lay my head across his chest, listening to his steady pulse as I shut my eyes.
“Seriously though, Rebecca.” For the second time that night, he seemed to hesitate. “I don’t know how this changes things. I mean, technically we’re engaged, our families are starting to get to know each other, you’ve already moved in, and I just…” He ran a hand up through his hair. “I don’t know how everything got so complicated.”
When I was quiet, he was quick to reassure me.
“But it’s good—I mean—of course, it’s good. Because I’m falling madly in love with you.” He kissed my forehead again. “We’re going to find a way to make this work. I’m just not sure how that’s going to happen yet. And I don’t want anyone we care about getting hurt, you know?”
I swear, I tried to listen to everything he was saying. I had a feeling that a good deal of it concerned me. But sleep was coming hard and fast, sweeping me along into a world of dreams.
“Rebecca?” He shook me softly. “Rebecca?”
But I was fast asleep.
Chapter 15
Morning came quickly. Marcus grinned as he rolled on top of me, burying his face in my neck with long, drawn-out kisses.
“I’m going to make you breakfast,” I said. “What’s your favorite breakfast food? I’m really good at making pancakes.”
“Silence, Rebecca,” he finally demanded with mock sternness, “you’re ruining my concentration.”
I wrapped my legs around his waist and did my best to roll us back over, but all that ended up happening was we both fell off of the bed with a loud thud.
“Shit!” He laughed, extracting himself from the tangle of sheets.
We started goofing around the way lovers do. He started tickling my sides, and we both fell against each other in a fit of laughter.
“Let me cook breakfast,” I said, sitting up in the pile of blankets like a queen.
He stroked his thumb against my grinning cheek, then hopped up to throw on some clothes. “Actually, I was going to make you something.”
“Really? That’s so sweet.”
“It would be my honor to make something for you. What would you like?”
“Surprise me.” I stretched back lazily against the bed. “Surprise me with some fruit and peppermint tea?”
He chuckled, zipping up a pair of low-hanging jeans. “I can do that.” He kissed me swiftly on the forehead before disappearing down the stairs. A moment later, I heard a muted commotion from the kitchen.
“With all due respect, Mr. Taylor, I don’t know what to do if you start to make a habit of this.” The poor displaced chef had apparently been pushed past his limits. “You know I struggle with high blood pressure.”
“It’s just a piece of cantaloupe, James, I can cut it myself.”
With a wide grin, I snatched up the sheets and fashioned myself a little dress before skipping across the room for a quick shower. Marcus’ bathroom was just as big as mine but had been decked out with “manly versions” of all the toiletries I had. I opened each one in turn, giving them a testing sniff as the hot water ran down my skin. In the end, I decided to go with the sandalwood scent that Marcus used himself, applying a huge dollop and lathering it up just as I heard him slowly coming up the stairs. With the speed of a jungle cat. I rinsed off the suds, quickly toweled dry, and sprinted back across the room, landing noiselessly just above the pillows as he pushed open the door.
He looked at me curiously for a moment, before giving the air a tentative sniff. “Did you take a shower?”
“No, I just naturally smell this…mouthwatering.”
He chuckled and set the tray on the edge of the mattress as he slipped back out of his pants and climbed onto the bed.
I reached for the tray with a wink, smiling at the hastily plucked flower I could tell was from a bush outside the kitchen window. With a grand relish, I lifted the silver lid off my plate. “Let’s see what culinary master Marcus Taylor has whipped up for us today—” My voice trailed off as my eyes fell on the plate.
My engraved, diamond bracelet glittered back at me.
“Surpris
e,” he whispered, studying my face carefully for a reaction.
The world around us seemed to stop as I stared down at the impossible.
“You…you found it?”
I traced the edges of the stones with utter amazement. After Marcus had publicly proposed, I had dropped this in the hands of a homeless man outside a coffee shop. But sure enough, I spotted the engraving that made the jewels so priceless. How was this possible?
“A homeless guy was trying to sell it when I went to get coffee,” he said quietly, picking it up and slipping it back around my wrist. “When I examined it, I knew who the owner was.”
He smiled wistfully and combed back my hair. The whole thing had been said ever so casually, but I was completely dumbfounded that he would do that for me.
“So how did you get it back?” I asked suddenly.
He suddenly laughed. “I didn’t rob the poor guy. I went straight to the bank and came back with fifteen thousand dollars in cash. After a bit of persuading, the man decided it was a fair trade.”
My mouth dropped open. I…didn’t know how to process that. In the end, I simply gave him a big smile, peering up at him through my lashes.
“It must have slipped right out of my hand.”
His face came down and he kissed me warm on the mouth, hand winding back through my hair, holding me there until we finally surfaced. “See that it doesn’t happen again.” He winked.
I nodded, breathless and out of sorts. This was like some kind of floaty dream. The kind where I woke up, then considered suicide-by-chocolate because I was still in East Hollywood.
This kind of thing just didn’t happen in real life.
“You know what? I’ll take diamonds any day over breakfast.”
His head fell back against the pillows with a sparkling laugh. “Sorry I didn’t bring up real food. Turns out, I’m not allowed to cook. The chef will be up in a few minutes.”
“A few minutes, eh?” I set the tray back on the ground and rolled mischievously onto his chest. “I’ll only need half that time…”
