Champagne Bubbles & Lipstick Stains: An Erotic Romance (Book 1)

by Janae Keyes

  “Oh dear, that’s me,” came Anne’s voice. I turned in her direction. She went into her purse and fished around before she produced a phone. “It’s Nathaniel. Maybe, back at the house already... Hello Nathaniel... oh yes, I see… Okay, yes, I will tell Taylor... see you tomorrow.”

  “He is like another child to her,” Bella mentioned. I hadn’t realized that she was now standing next to me.

  “I’ve noticed,” I commented as I watched Anne returned her phone to her purse. She glanced up at me with a sad look on her face.

  “Nathaniel’s meeting didn’t go well, and he is taking the plane to London. He says he will be back at some point tomorrow,” she told me. My heart sank, I was looking forward to seeing him, maybe spending more time with him, figuring out what exactly was going on between us.

  “He never stops working,” Bella commented. I’d found this to be true. Nathaniel was non-stop when it came to his company, though I admired him for it. He was practically royalty, and it didn’t seem as if he needed to work or do anything remarkable with his life, but he chose to and made a name for himself.

  Nate never quit, and it was apparent. I felt the same about myself when it came to my art. I’d been given plenty of opportunities to quit, but I persevered through the slumps and the bad times. I was determined to not be ordinary and to make my name known for my talent. As different as Nate and I were, we were the same in that context.

  ELEVEN

  NOT HAVING NATE around was much like it had been before our night together. I did what I was brought here for. I began work on my newest piece, inspired by the chandelier in the entrance hall tower, but today I wasn’t up for much painting. My sketch pad was itching for a little attention, and I was obliged to give it some.

  I spent my morning and afternoon sitting in the greenhouse, I sketched the various flowers and even some wildlife I spotted outside of the windows. There was a birdbath that attracted all kinds of birds. I watched them come along and take drinks of the cool water or bathe their feathers.

  This was the dream for an artist, having inspiration at every turn. My mind was exploding with each of my ideas. I hoped Nate would like them. I wondered when he would return. There was the possibility that he was now avoiding me, maybe he was also confused about what we were, how we got there, and where we would go from there, I knew I was.

  I took a deep breath and closed my pad, I’d drawn enough for the day. Standing from the bench I’d made mine for the past hours, I left the greenhouse behind and walked into the main house. All was quiet as Anne had to leave early for the day, she was babysitting some of her grandchildren and was excited to have them over for the night. Plus, she wanted to stop by the hospital to visit Langston’s newest addition.

  Every time I went up the grand staircase, I couldn’t believe that any of this was real. I’d seen plenty of movies with homes like this, and they all appeared to be unattainable dreams, but the fact was they weren’t. As I stood in the middle of the staircase, I smiled to myself before jogging up the rest of the stairs and making my way down the hall to my room.

  I walked into my room, kicked my shoes off and set my sketch pad on the nearest chair before looking up and spotting a large box on my bed. I wondered what could be inside. The box was black with a white ribbon. I was eager to open it. I slowly untied the ribbon to reveal the word CHANEL in white on the box. I let out a gasp and impatiently ripped the top off. There was white tissue paper that I fought to reveal a black garment. I pulled it out to reveal it was a dress. I glanced back down at the box and found a piece of Branagan Family stationery with a note scribbled on it, as always it was Nate’s handwriting.

  My darling Taylor,

  Tonight, we won’t be having dinner here at the manor. I want to take you out for something a little more special. Get ready and meet me downstairs at 7:30.

  - Nathaniel

  He had something up his sleeve, and I was eager to find out what it was. I glanced at the clock to see that I had an hour to get ready. Placing the dress back in the box, I saw there was another, much smaller one that I’d missed. It also appeared to be from Chanel. I opened it quickly and inside there was a pair of black strappy heels to go with the dress. I couldn’t help but wonder how much all of this had cost. I knew the shoes alone were worth more than my entire wardrobe.

  I rushed into the bathroom to take a quick shower. As I went, I began to pull off the simple clothes I was wearing, a pair of shorts and band T-shirt. I threw all of the fabric to the floor when I noticed a shopping bag on the counter. Nate was full of surprises it appeared. The bag was white, and it read, LA PERLA. I’d heard of the brand. I knew they sold very expensive underwear. I bit my lip as I reached into the bag. I first came in contact with a note card.

  Taylor,

  I like red, and I like lace, wear this with your dress tonight.

  - Nathaniel

  I tossed the card to the side, craving to know what was inside the bag. I pulled out a red lace bra and a pair of matching panties. I felt my cheeks get very hot, knowing if he wanted me to wear this, he was going to want to see me in it at some point. He was pulling out all the stops tonight. I wondered why he was treating me this way. Did he want me to be a girlfriend, or was he just looking for a moment in time? I would find out in due time.

  AN HOUR LATER, I made my way to the staircase, my brand new shoes clicking on the floor. As I reached the top, I immediately spotted Nate standing in the entrance hall. His head shot up in my direction and an irresistible grin spread across his face. My heart was thumping as I began my descent.

  The dress fit me perfectly, like a glove accentuating every bit of curve I had. The plunging neckline left nothing to the imagination when it came to my cleavage in the bra he’d specified that I wear. While the dress touched the floor, one of my legs and thick thighs was presented fully by the slit that ran up one leg to my mid-thigh.

  I was dressed in money. I’d somehow managed to quickly straighten my curls to fall slickly to my back, and I finished my look with lipstick in a color I now knew to be a favorite of Nate’s, red.

  “You look stunning,” Nate complimented as I reached him at the bottom of the stairs. He wore a black suit and white button up without a tie. His hands were on me in seconds. He pulled me close by the hips, one of his hands slipping down over my round ass.

  “I feel like a million bucks, and I’m afraid to ask if that is how much you paid for this ensemble,” I mentioned to him. Nate laughed for a moment and shook his head.

  “No, not that much, but I wanted you to feel how you do. Therefore, I’ve accomplished my mission ... well part of it,” he said before barely pressing his lips to mine, it was just enough of a kiss to feel sensual without getting lipstick on himself. He pushed my hair behind my shoulder and began to plant kisses on my neck.

  “What’s the rest of your mission?” I inquired in a whisper as I tried not to moan in response to the attention he was giving my neck.

  “The end game is to have you in my bed again. I want you naked and screaming my name as loud as you can and shaking with ecstasy.” His sharp tone noted how serious he was about the matter. He held my body close to his, the hard bulge in his pants making itself known to me. He was completely serious.

  “Nate,” I whispered out trying to regain my composure to attempt a serious conversation with him. Before I could venture to get more out of my mouth, I heard a sound. It was loud and sounded like a plane or very large fan. Whatever it was, it was close.

  “Our ride must be here,” Nate mentioned as he took me by the hand.

  “Ride?” I questioned. What kind of ride could make such a noise?

  Nate pulled me along toward the back of the house. As we went, the sounds grew louder. Once we reached the glass door, I finally saw what it was. There was a helicopter that was landing in the grass just beyond the swimming pool. My mouth flew open. This couldn’t be our ride.

  I continued to allow myself to be pulled along. We walked around the pool to
gether, hand in hand. When we reached the back of the pool, I stopped walking. He was serious, this was our ride, we were going to go out for dinner, but to get there we would be flying in a helicopter. I swore I was going to shit my pants out of shock.

  “Come on,” Nate urged.

  “You’re serious, where are we going?” I asked him.

  “Edinburgh,” he answered.

  “As in Edinburgh, Scotland?” I inquired as I tried to put heads and tails together. Nate chuckled a bit and nodded.

  “Come along, we have reservations and don’t want to be late. You know how I am about being on a timetable,” he said. I gave him a smirk and shook my head as I allowed him to walk me toward the helicopter.

  The moment we reached the flying vehicle, Nate jumped inside as if this was a normal everyday thing to do. My mind was boggled as he took my hand to hoist me up and inside. I nearly lost my footing, but he firmly grabbed me to him. I allowed him to show me my seat and help buckle me in. He gave me what seemed like a large pair of headphones, and I put them on. Nate then buckled himself in and also put on his headphones.

  “Okay Darling, up front there is my pilot Harrison. He will be flying us to and from Edinburgh tonight.” I heard Nate’s voice in my headphones. Harrison, an older gentleman that sat in the pilot’s seat, turned and gave me a wave. Nervously, I waved back.

  “Hello ma’am, and Lord Branagan, our flight will be a little over an hour today. Sit back and enjoy the views,” Harrison said to us over the headphones in his incredibly thick accent.

  At once, I felt a jolt and realized we were no longer making contact with the ground. My stomach was in my chest. I closed my eyes and gripped onto my seat for dear life, my breathing hard. I felt a hand, take mine, and I opened my eyes to see Nate giving me a reassuring smile as he held my hand firmly in his. I took a deep breath and gripped at him.

  “Look outside,” he instructed. We were already so far off the ground. I gasped at the sight below me. I could see Branagan Manor from above. “Most of the land around belongs to the family. Some is rented out to farmers and some wildlife preserves.”

  I couldn’t help, but smile at the beauty all around. The orange hue of the lowering sun reflecting off of bodies of water. Green was the primary color I could see, it dominated everything as we flew off. I turned back to Nate, he was looking over me and out of the window. This was a dream, and as I’d been thinking for a long time, none of this could be real, it was too perfect to be real.

  LANDING IN EDINBURGH, we were driven by car to a restaurant. Nate helped me from the back seat. His hand took its position on the small of my back as we started to the door. In the helicopter and in the car, I’d been too busy taking in the sights to talk to Nate about what our situation was. I’d made the decision to see where the night went.

  He opened the door and allowed me to walk inside of the restaurant. There was a man waiting at the podium. Nate and I walked together toward the host who gave us a welcoming smile.

  “Good Evening, do you have reservations?” the host inquired of us in his thick Scottish accent.

  “Yes we do, under Branagan,” Nate said with ease and authority. He pulled me closer to him, keeping me at his side. The eyes of the host went wide as he looked at his list and then back up to Nate and I.

  “Oh, I am so sorry, Lord Branagan, I did not recognize you. Please, your normal table is ready,” the host dribbled out in embarrassment.

  “It’s perfectly fine,” Nate responded kindly.

  “Follow me,” the host told us. Nate laced his fingers with mine, and we began to follow the young man through the restaurant.

  We passed plenty of tables, butt didn’t stop until we were at one that wasn’t just toward the back, but very secluded. Knowing how Nate was very private, it made sense that this was his normal table.

  “I see why you take this table,” I mentioned to Nate slyly. He gave me a smirk that made my stomach go in knots. No one had ever had this type of effect on me. I was a mess with him, and he kept me craving the reactions my body had to him.

  “It isn’t just that it is private, but look over there,” Nate said as he pointed to a window. Right outside of the window was Edinburgh Castle, standing strong and looking out over the city. I gasped at its beauty lit in the glow of the setting sun, the most stunning thing I’d ever seen. “Perfect, right?” Nate whispered in my ear as he came behind me. I nodded in response, captivated at the beauty that was this twelfth-century fortress. “Come, let’s sit.”

  Nate led me to my chair. As he pulled the chair out, I took a seat at the beautifully set table. The room was dim, and a majority of the lighting came from the flickering candles on the table. In only moments, a waiter was placing glasses of champagne on the table. I picked up my glass and took a sip of the rich liquid while Nate ordered wine for the two of us.

  “This champagne is actually from my vineyard in France,” Nate informed me. It really was the best champagne I’d ever tasted. I watched Nate as he took a sip from his own glass.

  “How was your trip to London?” I asked in an attempt to make conversation with the man next to me. Nate let out an exasperated sigh. I was under the impression right away that his trip wasn't a good one.

  “That trip was a pain in my arse,” he growled out. “I don't understand why people cannot do their jobs. I ask for things to happen in a specific order and to deliberately not do those things in said order throws off the entire operation, forcing me to go correct the mistakes in order to get everything running smooth.”

  “You really are a control freak,” I noted. “Why is that, why must you take control over the most minuscule of things?”

  “Much of my life has been planned for me from day one. There are things expected of me as an heir, and the one who will carry the Branagan name. I've always been under the control of my title, and I needed to have my own control. That is why I purchased the company. I wanted to put my name to something of my own and control the outcome, as my outcome is already under someone else's control,” Nate explained.

  “You said you were the heir, don’t you have two older sisters?” I questioned out of curiosity.

  “I do, Evangeline and Penelope. Though in some successions, girls can be next in line, but for the Branagan’s, the eldest boy is still to succeed. When my father passes, I will be Duke. That is something I don’t have control over,” he clarified.

  “So you control what you can as a way of getting your own satisfaction?” I asked, and he nodded before taking another sip of his bubbling drink. I followed suit and took a sip of my own. “What do your sisters do?”

  “The eldest Evangeline. She is the saint of the family. She is married to the Earl of Warwick and lends her name to various charities throughout the country. She is also the bossy one. When she moved out of the house, I was pleased as I had her out of my hair.” Nate scrunched up his nose as he spoke of his sister. It was evident they didn’t get along very well. I wondered how close he actually was to his family since he spent most of his time working. It was possible that work was also a distraction to keep his family at bay. “Penelope is the socialite. She married an MP and spends most of her time throwing her status around and going to glamorous parties. She’s never tried to work a day in her life and never will. You have a sister, don’t you?”

  “Yeah, Katie. She is the golden child. She did exactly what my parents wanted of her. They wanted her to join academic clubs, she did. If they wanted her to do sports, she did. She went to their college of choice for her, and she went off to get a great job, just like they wanted. I’m the black sheep, I guess. I was the opposite of her. I wanted to express myself and do it with color and flare. My parents hated that. I went to the college they wanted, and I hated it. When I dropped out, they flipped. I picked another school to study art. I think they were at least happy I was in school. My mom was always breathing down my neck for me to get a real job. Your call came just in time.” I had a huge smile planted on my face. Nate hiring me c
ame at the best moment and knowing I’d proved my parents wrong was the best feeling, I had always been pegged as being wrong.

  “You’ve had a lot expected of you as well?” Nate questioned with a sad face.

  “Yeah, but I had my own expectations, and I think I met them,” I noted proudly.

  “Seems we have more in common than we would have ever known,” Nate said as he gave me a soft smile. It was true, our lives were different, but both of us had families that expected things from us, and we worked to live up to those expectations in our own ways.

  “You work hard for your own goals, I try and do the same,” I commented.

  “It keeps me sane. Knowing that I’ve accomplished something and knowing that it is all running in the ways I have specified, it keeps me sane and busy. If I am busy I don’t have to waste my time with ridiculous matters like asserting my title,” he said as the waiter returned to take our glasses and to drop off a plate of hors d’oeuvres.

  “So, he is a real person and not a robot,” I said mockingly.

  “Maybe, just maybe. Now eat up, the food here is delicious. I try and come here on days I feel like getting out. As you can tell, I’m not the person to make myself known or publicized. I like my quiet life, mainly at the manor.”

  “Just something else you can have control over,” I remarked as I picked up a little toast covered in caviar.

  “Exactly,” he affirmed, and I gave him a smile.

  I ate the small finger foods that had been presented to us. I felt Nate shift next to me, my eyes fluttered up to him, he was looking out of the window toward Edinburgh Castle. His facial features were not as rugged as they would have appeared to be when he had his scruffy beard. Instead, they were much softer. The bit of beard he kept was tasteful. His chin was pointed, and lips plump. His haircut allowed his hair to look full and not flat and unkempt.