Twelve Days - The Beginning

by Reyner, Jade

  By now the waiter had returned with the drinks for the other girls and a refill for Celeste. He also dropped a bottle of mineral water in front of Elise and left their table with a flirty wink. Elise rolled her eyes – OK so she had defended this guy from Celeste totally unnecessarily – she was seriously out of touch.

  “C’mon girls – drink up! My man is down there and I need to go find him – NOW!!” Celeste shouted dramatically, bringing them to the attention of some of the other members who were trying to enjoy a few quiet moments.

  “Shush....” giggled Annabel but wasted no time in grabbing Celeste’s hand and heading off to the stairs and the dance floor. Olivia, Amelia and Elise all followed suit, leaving their jackets and bags in the safety of the booth.

  As soon as they opened the glass partition door, which led to the stairs and the dance floor, they were assaulted by the music, loud and throbbing and Elise realised just how much protection the VIP area afforded.

  Descending the stairs she noticed two raised platforms, one on either side, where professional dancers were gyrating in time to the beat. Having never seen anything like this before Elise stopped and stared for a moment marvelling at the fluidity and the sensual nature of the artists. They each appeared lost in their own world, lost to the music and for a second, Elise envied them. Moments of pure abandon were few and far between for her and she wished that she could just lose herself like that and maybe wake up to a different life, a different time.

  Glancing down the steps she realised that the others had gone on without her and although she followed as quickly as she could, the crowd was just too immense and she was soon effectively on her own, swallowed up by the mass of heaving bodies.

  Realising she was never going to reach them, she stood for a moment and contemplated turning back to the booth to wait until they came to find her. As she began to move back in the direction of the stairs, the music abruptly changed and to her surprise, The Communards classic from a few nights ago filled the room. Never one to resist this track, although marginally surprised to hear it played in a venue such as this, she shuffled her way onto the dance floor and found a small area where she could move around.

  It wasn’t long before the beat claimed her and as she had done a couple of nights ago, she let the music flow over her, closing her eyes and raising her arms above her head. The crowd around her had not thinned at all so she guessed that they weren’t averse to this music either and she continued to lose herself; spinning around, swaying her hips, moving her feet, completely ignoring the bump and grind of the other dancers. The music was picking up now, getting faster and the crowd were getting louder as it reached its peak and Elise was completely swept away by it all. This track did something to her, always had done, and to be able to be here, enjoying it, in complete and utter freedom, was an absolute revelation.

  Suddenly she felt a pair of strong arms grip her waist from behind and was just about to scream out in panic when her subconscious recognised the familiar scent of her assailant, a delicious combination of spice and musk – Vaughn? What the hell was he doing here?

  She tried to twist around in his arms but he stayed her; holding her still, keeping her back to him. He leaned forward a little and whispered in her ear. “Let it go, Angel, let it go.”

  At the sound of his deep sexy voice, she relaxed a little and switched off her mind for once, deciding to put her questions on the back burner for now and just go with the flow. It was a public place, he had every right to be here and it felt unbelievably good to be in his arms like this.

  By now, The Communards had finished and the usual nightclub beat was back with the bass pumping out onto the dance floor and reverberating through her body. Behind her, Vaughn continued to hold her waist and pulled her closer, fitting his hips to her back as they swayed to the music. Elise felt herself helplessly responding and pushed back into him as his arms tightened, one moving slightly higher and coming to rest just below her breast. He leaned closer and ran his tongue lightly over the tendrils of hair that had escaped at the nape of her neck, continuing on to follow the line to her throat with gentle nips and ending just beneath her ear.

  Elise shivered and found herself automatically reaching up with her arms and linking them behind his head, still keeping pace with the beat. She ground herself into Vaughn’s hips and heard him groan against her neck as she came into contact with his erection. She could feel the entirety of his steel length and immediately felt herself responding, wetness beginning to seep from down below. His hand that had been resting below her breast now brushed lightly up and over it; coming to rest on her collar bone, his hand angling down towards the neckline of her dress. The fact that they were still in the middle of the dance floor where anyone could see them had not escaped Elise’s attention, but she was too far gone to care. This man did things to her - things that she had never experienced - and things that she recognised on some level she needed. It felt too good to stop. It was as if the second he touched her, all coherent thought left her head and she was just a puppet, responding to his ministrations, his touch, his sense and his feel. His and his alone.

  Vaughn was now nibbling her ear, his hot breath igniting flames down her spine and Elise released her hold dropping her arms to her side, no longer having the strength to hold them up.

  “That’s right, baby” Vaughn whispered, “just let it go. You are so hot, angel; you have no idea what you do to me.”

  His words both soothed and aroused, and Elise felt powerless to stop him as his hand began to descend from her collarbone towards the neck of her dress. Anticipation built as his other hand began a journey of its own, slowly heading down towards the hem of her dress, his fingers gliding over the fabric and caressing her, his teeth all the while nipping and sucking at her ear. As his hand approached her hip he squeezed lightly and suddenly pain ripped through Elise and reality hit.

  “Shit!” she couldn’t control the cry of pain as his hand inadvertently gripped her bruises and she spun abruptly out of his arms and stumbled off the dance floor, heading to the VIP area and the sanctuary of the booth.

  “Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!” she recited, over and over and over. The shame and humiliation of what she had been doing ....on a public dance floor for fuck’s sake..., suddenly hit and she ran on barely stable legs, up the stairs and in through the glass partition door.

  Thankfully the booth was empty, the other girls clearly still on the dancefloor and Elise breathed a sigh of relief as she sank gratefully into its warmth.

  What the hell had she been thinking? She knew this man was dangerous. Every time he came near her, her senses went into overdrive. Why the hell could he not stay away from her? And damn her traitorous body for responding! She was almost grateful to Dale for the wounds that he had inflicted on her; at least it had brought her to her senses before the situation had got any more out of control. And she knew without a shadow of a doubt that it would have got completely out of control.

  She couldn’t believe that it had only been days since she had first met Vaughn. Nothing in her life seemed stable anymore and she melted into a hormonal teenager whenever he was around. She was a mature, married woman and there was absolutely no excuse for her behaviour.

  As the whole brazen scene replayed in her mind, the gravity of what she had allowed this man to do to her sank in and she knew without a shadow of a doubt, that she needed to get out of this place – right now.

  Chapter Twelve

  Elise raced out of the club; pushing through anyone and everything in her way, barely aware of what she was doing and knowing only that she needed to get out of there, find her car and get the hell home. This, whatever this was, was complete and utter madness and for a moment there she had almost lost all sense of perspective. Who knew what the other girls had seen and what they would make of it – particularly Olivia, who she understood to have firsthand knowledge of Vaughn’s charms.

  She had no idea why he seemed intent on pursuing her. Maybe it was the thr
ill of the chase and the fact that she was unavailable which added to the spice? Who knew? She didn’t care anymore and was done trying to work anything out. As soon as Dale was home from hospital, she was going to help him to work through his issues and then hopefully they could carry on their lives as if the last few days had never happened.

  She reached the car park and typed a quick text to Celeste to let her know that she had headed home early, claiming she wasn’t feeling well. Hopefully the other girl would be able to get a lift back with the others and wouldn’t be too upset at Elise for bailing out on her. She sighed. Just another situation to smooth over on Monday.

  Reaching her car, she was about to put the key in the lock when a shout reached her from across the car park.

  “Elise! Wait! Please...!”

  She turned to see Vaughn sprinting across the car park towards her, hastily shrugging into his jacket with keys and phone dangling in his hand. His long strides ate up the distance to her in no time and she found herself sucking in a breath as she took in his appearance. He was wearing dark casual jeans and a fitted top along with a leather jacket and lightweight boots. He was, quite simply, devastating and she had to force herself to remain where she was – the temptation to run and throw herself into his arms was overwhelming.

  She waited for him to reach her. Devastating as he was, she didn’t really want to talk to him but she recognised that this ‘thing’ between them needed to be aired and then put to bed once and for all. It was the only way that she could ever see life resuming and reverting back to any semblance of normality.

  “Elise! Look...- I’m sorry – really.” By now he had reached her and was standing just in front of her as she leant against her car door. He was breathing heavily from running the length of the car park but he recovered quickly, indicating a level of fitness that Elise could only admire. She was fairly certain that if she had just sprinted the length of the car park, she would be in a heap on the floor and requiring medical treatment - not about to hold a serious conversation with someone.

  “Things in there got out of hand, I’m sorry.” He huffed out, “Shit, Elise, I can’t see straight when you’re around – you just turn me on too damn much and I can’t seem to keep any level of control.” He paused, his eyes searching her face as if for any sign of forgiveness.

  “It’s not just that though,” he continued. “I really want to spend time with you – please. Let me apologise. Let me make it up to you. How about we go for a coffee? There’s a twenty-four hour place just around the corner.”

  He grinned at her and held his hands up in surrender, “I promise to keep these completely to myself.”

  Elise regarded him with cautious eyes, weighing up the smart thing to do. Clearly, that would be to get in her car and drive away, to put as much distance as she could between herself and this overwhelming man, forget he ever existed and try to carry on. Unfortunately he had somehow wormed his way into her brain without her even realising it and she found herself fascinated by him, drawn to him on some level she had never experienced before. The physical attraction between them was off the scale. Maybe she needed to hear him out and work out what was going on between them. Perhaps they could talk it through like grown adults and then go their separate ways. That way they could continue to work together without any awkwardness or difficulty. Surely that would be the best resolution?

  Making her decision, she nodded her head in agreement and she watched as Vaughn visibly sighed in relief.

  “Thank you.” he said and gently took her hand, leading her to his car parked a few spaces away. She was surprised that he had his car here; she would have thought he would have been enjoying the ‘ambience’ like at their work do but then again, he would have to pay for the drinks here; they had been free at work. Recognising that she was having unfounded and uncharitable thoughts she pushed them to one side. It was unfair to make that kind of judgement about him, she had driven too and that had had absolutely nothing to do with the price of the drinks. Just because Dale had a problem with alcohol, didn’t mean that everyone else did.

  She got into his car in silence, trying to gather her wits and brave herself for the conversation that was to follow. Vaughn got into the driver’s seat and immediately the atmosphere in the vehicle became charged, the spark between them almost visible in the dark interior. He glanced across at her and she smiled nervously at him; it would be so easy to reach across, brush her hand over his thigh and then higher, trail her fingers over his face, pull his head down to hers, seal her lips over his in a searing kiss and taste him again. She shook her head to free herself from her thoughts and turned away, grateful for the darkness of the car which hid her blush. She didn’t need Vaughn to know that her thoughts were often less than honourable when he was around; it was bad enough that her body’s reaction was a dead giveaway without her face skywriting it, for all to see.

  A short, silent drive later, they arrived at the coffee shop and Elise was relieved to see that the car park was virtually empty. Although it was unlikely that she would see anyone she knew this far out of town at this time of night, it would be just her luck to run into one of her neighbours. The fact that she didn’t recognise any of the few cars parked outside was both a relief and a blessing.

  Vaughn led her inside and they found a secluded table at the back – there were only three other tables occupied - all by a rowdy bunch of oblivious University students - so their entrance went virtually unnoticed.

  As they sat down, a waitress approached to take their order; a large latte for Vaughn and a mug of tea for her. Although she drank coffee at work, tea was her beverage of choice - particularly at this time of night. She needed something to soothe and calm her, not something that would wire her up for the remainder of the night.

  Vaughn reached across the table and grabbed one of her cold hands, rubbing it absently between his as he seemed to consider what to say. Remembering that he had promised to keep his hands to himself, she raised her eyebrow at him indicating their joined hands and he just shrugged, almost apologetically but made no move to sever the contact. Her initial reaction was to pull her hand away but the sensations running up her arm and through her body at even this slight touch were absolutely heady, so she decided to leave it where it was. Considering what others parts of her body he had touched, it seemed almost insignificant.

  “Elise, look. I really am sorry about tonight. I didn’t plan this despite what you may think – it was a complete coincidence that we were both there.”

  She looked at him in total disbelief. He seriously expected her to believe that? Focusing on their joined hands, she voiced her thoughts aloud.

  “You seriously expect me to believe that? After all that you’ve said to me over the past few days? You must think I’m a complete idiot.” Her retort was sharper than she had meant it to be and she instantly regretted it as she registered the brief look of hurt crossing his face. Maybe he was telling the truth? How the hell would she know? Shit – she was tired, it had been a long week and everything had ceased to make sense a few days ago. Perhaps she should give him the benefit of the doubt.

  “Sorry – that was uncalled for.” She relented. “It just freaks me out that every corner I seem to turn these days finds you standing on it. First you’re breaking up a fight in reception, then you’re at the hospital visiting my husband and now I find you on the dancefloor of a club that I have only ever visited tonight, for Christ’s sake. You have to forgive me for finding it slightly hard to comprehend that this whole – situation –wasn’t planned.” Although her words were harsh, she calmed her voice a little to take the edge off. It wasn’t all down to him.

  Vaughn shrugged easily, “I understand why you would think that but I can assure you that it really was a coincidence that I was there tonight. I was out with Stephen to celebrate a friend’s birthday and I caught sight of you coming down the stairs to the dancefloor. You looked absolutely stunning and I couldn’t tear my eyes away. All I knew was that I had
to hold you....had to feel your body pressed against me.” He paused and watched her cautiously as if waiting for a reaction.

  “I got the DJ to change the track to the one that was playing the very first time I set eyes on you. I watched you that night you know. Totally and utterly caught up in the music, you were completely unaware of the effect you were having on several men - not just me. I remember thinking that I had never seen something so pure or so beautiful and I knew then that I had to get to know you.” He glanced across at her, still absently rubbing her hand between his.

  “I wanted to recreate that tonight; watch you again, see you dance and be completely free. You really are incredibly beautiful. And then it got to be too much just watching, I had to feel you....touch you. I told myself that it would only be brief and then I would back off. Just one touch, just one kiss and then I would leave you be. Then you ground yourself into me and the small amount of control I was hanging onto was shredded. I’m sorry that I freaked you out Elise but I’m not sorry for touching you. I will never be sorry for that.”

  Vaughn blew out a breath, leaning back as the waitress arrived with their drinks. His dark eyes had taken on a new intensity and Elise struggled to maintain any level of sanity under his gaze. What on earth did you say to a speech like that? He thought that he had freaked her out but he hadn’t – far from it. She was freaked out by the connection between them but not by him. She had bolted because she was frightened. Frightened of the depth of emotion she was beginning to feel for this man, frightened that she could feel something like this when she was married to Dale and scared witless as to where this was all going to go. If Dale ever found out about any of this, she would be taught a lesson she would never forget and she couldn’t afford for that to happen if her marriage was ever going to stand a chance.