Her recent romance with shipping magnate Anthony Stavros had rocked more than a few worlds. Some of it was because he was so much older than she was but I think there were also a few catty comments about "Beauty and the Beast." But now I could see how a man like Tony would find her irresistible. How she managed to keep up with both Brock and Tony was anyone's guess.
I saluted her with my martini glass and she gave me a quiet smile back. Yup, if you could see past the blinding beauty there was something solid about this woman. As I looked around our table I realized we had one thing in common, we were all women who were quite comfortable around men of power, and wielded more than a bit of it ourselves. It is a rare combination, even in this enlightened age.
We discussed many things that night. It was a celebration of sorts as it was rare for Marianne to have these friends of hers on the same coast let alone the same city. Although Jasmine still lived in Los Angeles she spent a fair amount of time travelling in Europe with Tony. Her best friend, reporter Janie Black had been up here in San Francisco a few times covering a few court cases I had done. We had connected the first time we met and I thought if Jasmine was her best friend that was a pretty darn good recommendation. I found myself wondering if Janie was still with Brock, Jasmine's boss. That was another romance that caused palpitations across the web. Perhaps this was also a table of women who love to shake things up and ignore the old ideas, rebels in our own ways.
It was getting pretty late when I decide to call it a night. As I headed back across town my phone rang and I saw it was Julian. Later than his usual call, but then he knew I planned to be out tonight. "Hey Miss Prissy," he said as I picked it up. "I missed you too much so I came back early. Can I see you tonight?" I couldn't think of better news and said yes. He was waiting by my door when I arrived, with a look in his eyes that danced between lust and a trace of that little boy shyness. It was an irresistible combination and even at our first touch I knew that tonight was going to be a magical one. Shivers of anticipation went up my spine as the elevator door closed and he took me in his arms and began to kiss me, slowly and deliberately.
Julian
I couldn't wait to see her and called the moment I landed. Luckily she was just on her way home from her girl's night with Marianne, and I felt a tingle of anticipation when she said yes, to come over now. I debated getting flowers but in the end just came, because I didn't want to miss out on even a minute of time I spent with her. When she walked up the street I could feel my blood rush just looking at her. That crazy afro of her was gleaming in the moonlight and her lush lips were just crying out to be kissed. It was all I could do to wait until we were alone in the elevator.
Just running my hand along her back sent shivers through her and I could feel them run like electricity from her to me and back again. She flowed into my arms like we were meant to be together and I pulled her to me, hungry for her lips, her mouth and every inch of her body. She tasted of the sweet drinks she had been having with her friends, and I enjoyed licking it from her lips, slowly.
She growled low and soft when I traced my fingers along the side of her neck, feeling her shiver when I touched the sweet spot below the lobe of her ear. As one hand caressed her hip and slid up to her beautiful and generous breast, the other traced a path for my lips to follow then slid down. I watched her eyes change from joy to sheer pleasure as I found her erect nipple with one hand and cupped her ass with the other, lightly biting her neck in that special place I had found. Her skin felt hot against my lips and I inhaled the scent of jasmine flowers and spice.
When the elevator door opened we tumbled out into the hallway. We looked at each other and then down the hall, relieved that it was empty. We barely made it into her apartment before we were once again tangled up in each other's arms, kissing in long slow kisses. I pushed her against the wall, hiking her skirt up to caress the soft hot skin of her thighs.
Priscilla
I just couldn't keep my hands from roaming his hard body. Julian was just as insistent. Every time his tongue meandered it seemed that he found a new location that set my entire body on fire. He worked his hands and lips slowly and deliberately down my body as I leaned against my living room wall for support. My knees were already so weak I could barely stand. What on earth would lovemaking naked feel like if this is us with all our clothes on, I wondered? It didn't take long to find out.
He began to unbutton my dress, slowly, as he looked into my eyes. I could feel his fingers caressing me at every step along the way and he would stop now and again to kiss me again in that long slow deliberate kiss of his that I felt all the way down to my toes. He pushed aside the silk and lace of my camisole and bra, drinking in the sight. As he revealed my breasts he covered them with kisses while his hands continued to travel down my dress, slowly unbuttoning it until it fell from my shoulders and into a heap at my feet. His eyes traveled my body with a hungry look.
With a grin he picked me up and carried me into the bedroom, never missing a beat in that deep slow kiss as he continued to caress me. As he bent over me to continue to undress me I reached out and unbuttoned his shirt. "No fair making it all one-sided. I want some of that eye candy too." He smiled and straddled me, letting me undress him as he slowly caressed every inch of me, peeling back the last of my lingerie piece by piece and tossing it over his shoulder with a sly smile.
Now it was my turn to unveil him. I have heard stories of how Japanese men are not that well endowed. Well, if that was true it seems that Julian never saw that memo. My initial thoughts that he had refined his kissing to make up for other things that might be lacking proved to be quite wrong. There is nothing lacking in Julian.
He slid down towards me, fingers caressing and finding every spot on my body that longed to be touched. As his lips followed, he sucked and tasted until I thought I would scream in sheer ecstasy. I had reached a point where I was ready to beg for him to come inside me. Almost as if he read my mind he looked into my eyes and asked, "Can I?" I nodded and felt him fill me to the brim in long slow strokes that built in intensity. We rocked together slowly, wave after wave, always letting it build then slowly letting it lap at the edges of insanity.
Just when I thought I couldn't take another moment of it, he took me into his arms, lowered his body to give me one last long kiss and took us both over the edge. We shuddered and shook together until the end, and then slowly he rolled beside me kissing my shoulder and touching my face. I don't ever recall seeing a man so happy and content looking. Cuddling me closer I heard him murmur in my ear, "I can't believe I found you." I chuckled back at him; "I didn't know I was lost." He laughed softly and hugged me closer to him as we both fell into an exhausted but happy sleep.
Julian
The next few days were busy as I completed the paperwork on the Louisiana deal and began making plans to return to Japan. I had business there that really could not be put off. But every time I stopped for a moment, the image of Priscilla's happy face came back to me. We talked every day and I knew I was falling deeper and deeper in love with her.
Every night we met and talked about our day together over dinner, laughing at the crazy sides of our lives. She was working on a big case and I could see it had her worried. When that look would come over her face I would find something to make her laugh. But she isn't the kind of woman to be easily distracted and I knew that even if she couldn't tell me the particulars of the case, it would help her to talk about her frustrations with it. She always encouraged me to talk about my work, and sometimes had some brilliant insights into business deals I was constructing. The woman is not only sexy; she has a mind that can analyze at the speed of light. Every day I find new things about her that amaze me.
I never realized before that I went from woman to woman because so many of them bored me once I got to know them. With Priscilla it is just the opposite, the more I know her the more I find myself having a hard time imagining life without her. Our nights were filled with love, the kind I now knew I was searc
hing for all this time.
It isn't just how amazing our time in bed is, though it is. Our lovemaking just gets more exciting as we explore each other's bodies and take our passion to new heights. But beyond this, it is about how we already finish each other's sentences, know what each other likes (she likes her coffee very dark with lots of cream and honey) or even that we share a love of the same authors. It is our ability to share our thoughts and ideas so easily that make me love her more each day.
As I contemplate returning home, I keep putting it off one more day, then one more week. So much of my work can be done through conference calls and on the web that I find new reasons to stay in San Francisco. I know why I am staying, but I find ways to make excuses for myself. This one last document needs to be vetted here in the U.S. This last signature needs to be done. Before I know it a month has passed.
I read in the paper one day about Brock's engagement to Janie. I recall our conversation in New Orleans and wonder once again how he found himself considering such a big step. Money can tangle things sometimes, and I know that it is one of the reasons I have avoided any real relationships up until now. But Priscilla is always on my mind, and I can see how much she makes my life better just because she is in it. I may be a hopeless romantic but this is different, this feels real. But can I really take that next step? I just don't feel ready, no matter how much I love her.
Then one night she is angry, depressed and I see a side to her I have never known. The case has exploded and she has been caught in the crossfire. The media are having a heyday with it and she is feeling cornered even though she knows that all of this was inevitable. She is in the right, she knows it and everyone in her firm knows it. But she has been caught in a dilemma that she can't escape. It is painful to watch this and I realize that I want to protect her but have to let her handle this her own way. All I can do is make sure I will be there for her when she needs a safe place.
Priscilla
My key witness in the upcoming trial has flown the coop and I am left holding the bag with nothing to show for it. I knew he wasn't trustworthy and I kept him on a tight leash, or so I thought. Now he has disappeared and even after I check all the usual places I know in my gut he has left the country, along with the key evidence that would prove our whistleblower to be nothing more than an opportunist with a good imagination and the right connections.
While it doesn't turn our case upside down, it does mean we will have a harder time proving in court that the accusations being made of our client are unfounded. It looks bad, but not impossible. At least that is what I keep telling myself. It will also mean I need to work harder at finding the right evidence to take the place of our missing witness.
I look forward to my dinners with Julian more than ever as a place I can turn over the ideas in my head and in the end put them all aside for the night. I don't know how I would have gotten through this without him, as he seems to always find the right way to help me unwind and remember there is more to my life than this trial. Our lovemaking becomes more aggressive as I feel the need to release all my pent-up frustration in it. I am amazed when he even points out that he understands this and agrees that I need it. He brings me coffee in bed as I wake to the morning, and will text me during the day to see how I am doing and encourage me.
When we reach the end and are awaiting the verdict from the judge I realize I cannot pace in my apartment for the next day or so as I wait. I call Julian and he comes over, dinner in hand from my favorite sushi place. We talk about little things, anything to get my mind off the waiting. He holds me all night and when the phone rings I jump. It is over, we have won and I almost cry with relief.
Julian tells me that he has been making plans while I was struggling with this case. He wants to take me away for a while to just get some rest. We talk about taking a few weeks in Tahiti, just to relax. Then he tells me that after our holiday he wants to take me to Japan, to show me his favorite places and to meet his parents. I am shocked at first. But when I see the joy in his eyes as he talks about the places he wants to show me, I find myself understanding why he wants this. It is another piece to the puzzle of our love and I want it too.
The next few weeks are like a dream. He charters a plane to Tahiti and we spend the weeks on our own little section of the island, enjoying the quiet charm of the place as I slowly learn to unwind. While he still has to keep in touch with his far flung business, we have plenty of time to simply lie in each other's arms and make love in the slow languid way I have come to know with Julian.
I expect to fly to Japan, but he has other plans. We island hop from one exotic island to another, slowly making our way up the Pacific Rim to Japan. Wherever we go it seems he has a hotel or home that waits for his arrival. But it isn't all lush hotels and beaches; he loves to explore the little towns in the countries that we visit as well. The experiences we have as we travel can be a bit intimidating but I feel that I can trust Julian to never put me in danger, although that one vendor in the Philippines was pretty testy with us!
We have our adventures; spend a lot of time really getting to know each other and I find myself falling even more in love with him than when we were in San Francisco. Could it be the playboy I first met has decided it is time to stay with just one woman? If this is true, what will his parents make of this thoroughly American woman he has chosen? I begin to feel a bit anxious as we get ready to fly to Japan and meet his parents.
Julian
We fly to Japan and I love showing her the hidden secrets of a country that I still love even if I don't spend as much time in it as I did when I was younger. She worries about meeting my parents and I try to reassure her that she will be fine. I know them and I know how they have lost hope I would ever meet a woman that was right for me. Despite my father's gruff ways, I know what a hopeless romantic he is, just like me. My mother, a poor country girl that is my father's conscience, is proof of that.
My father is utterly charmed by Priscilla and my mother says little but gives me her secret smile that tells me everything is fine. I knew that Miss Priscilla couldn't help but charm him, but mothers are harder to convince. By now we have been travelling together for a little over a month with most of it spent on our own. It was my final test. I don't know if she even suspects my reasons but I had to know. It's one thing to fall in love and enjoy the support of your friends as it happens. But now I see that the woman I have come to know and love is every bit as amazing as I had imagined.
We have talked about ideas, explored new tastes and social norms and even had to put up with crazy vendors yelling at us in languages we couldn't hope to know. Sure, sometimes we disagreed but even when we did she never fought dirty and we always made up. The time is right, the place is right, and most of all - the woman is right.
Priscilla
We arrived at the Okinawa Islands to take a few days on the beach before we headed back to San Francisco. I have to admit, the white sands and turquoise waters were every bit as beautiful as the beaches we had visited on our Pacific trip. On the second day Julian suggested a walk along the beach early that morning. It was beautiful. We had the whole beach to ourselves as the sun rose to turn the sky a gorgeous shade of pink. As we walked he took my hand and kissed it, then turned and knelt before me. I knew this was the moment.
"I love you Miss Priscilla and I know that I don't ever want to be without you. Please tell me you will marry me." He held up a beautiful ring with the biggest diamond I have ever seen surrounded by rubies and sapphires. I think I cried as I said yes. He slid the ring on my finger and then picked me up and covered my face with kisses.
As we made love that morning on the beach I couldn't help but think how strange it is that love comes to us in so many surprising ways. Julian had been a rich playboy I had dismissed as nothing more than a dalliance when I first met him. But the more I knew him, the more I saw that beneath that charming playboy exterior was a brilliant and loving man. A man I could spent the rest of my life getting to know and pro
bably still find remarkable.
The weeks sped by as we planned our wedding day. It was to be held in San Francisco and my mama was flying out for the occasion, with my sister, Marianne and Chrissie as my bridesmaids. Jasmine offered to organize the wedding plans with me, which was a great idea since she seems to thrive on putting wedding planners in their place. I could see why Brock depended on her and Tony adored her. When I found out that Janie Black, Jasmine's best friend and old roomie was in town, I just had to invite her as well.
Some nights I don't know how Julian puts up with the sheer amount of women energy that ruled my apartment as we sent out invitations, picked out flowers and outfits and they helped me to make adjustments to my mother's wedding dress. I don't care if it is old fashion, I will not be married in anything else. I have promised my mother since I was ten I would get married in it and I don't break my word. I think she cried when I told her over the phone to be sure and bring it with her.
The day of the wedding was sunny and beautiful. You would think Julian ordered it to be that way. We had decided to have our wedding at the old City Hall in the Rotunda. I love this space and the way the beautiful Beaux-Arts building catches the light and reflects it back along the marble columns and golden soaring staircase. You couldn't find a more romantic place to be married in all of San Francisco. Plus the practical side of me loves that it is a working City Hall! As we looked into each other's eyes to say our vows I thought back, remembering the day we first met at that fateful business dinner. Who knew that Marianne's latest venture would bring me the love of my life?
As I turned to toss the bridal bouquet from the top of the staircase, I saw Marianne standing next to Yu-Tang, holding his hand and chatting with Buck who had his arm around the tiny Chrissie. Love comes to us in mysterious ways and we are all just grateful to find it when we do. Brock and Janie turned smiling faces to me as she mouthed, "toss it!" But I knew that they had already made their announcement, it was Jasmine I was looking for. I found her, standing with her remarkable Tony. He may be 20 years her senior but every since he arrived I had noticed he seemed to be made for her. I tossed it in her direction and wished them luck. I knew my luck was standing right beside me, looking as adorable and sexy as ever. Life with Julian might be a bit of a roller coaster, but I can tell you right now it will never be boring.
VAMPIRE:Vampire Guardian Series: Paranormal Mystery Vampire Alpha Male Romance (New Adult Contemporary Paranormal Royalty Fantasy Romance Collection)) Page 30
