“Is it the same Maria?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking. I had to know.
“Is what the same, Maria?”
“Are you engaged to the same Maria you were engaged to when you were in college?”
“It’s none of your business.” He looked away then and my heart fell. In my heart I knew it was her. “What are you doing this evening?”
“Why?”
“I have a business meeting.” He looked at his watch. “With some Japanese businessmen. They’re bringing their wives. It would be smarter for me to go with someone.”
“Take Maria.”
“She’s in New York.”
“I see.” I bit my lip. I wanted to know if he lived with her. I was annoyed at myself. There were so many stones I had left unturned. I shouldn’t be this unaware of what was going on in his life.
“So, I’ll pick you up at your hotel at 7 p.m.?”
“I didn’t say yes.”
“You’re staying at the Diva, right?”
“Yeah,” I looked up at him in surprise. “How did you know?”
“Just had a feeling. How’d you like those purple lights?”
“Fine.” I looked away again, feeling uneasy.
“I’ll end the session today at 4.” He smiled and started walking back towards the entrance. “That should give you enough time to get ready and do your hair.”
“Who says I’m going to do anything with my hair?” I raised an eyebrow at him.
“I’d rather you didn’t, actually. You know I prefer it wild and crazy.” He paused by the main entrance and opened the door for me. “Especially when you were riding me and climaxing. It made me feel like Tarzan, with my wild Jane.” He whispered in my ear as I walked past him. “I miss f**king my wild Jane.”
I ignored him and continued walking to the elevator. I was not going to let him intimidate me or make me feel embarrassed. He knew how to push my buttons and was doing everything he could to get a rise out of me. I smiled to myself as a plan hatched in my mind as I walked into the elevator. I would show him who could play a smarter game. I was about to call his bluff, and I was going to enjoy doing it.
***
I walked out of the elevator and into the lobby in a long red dress. It had a plunging neckline and a high slit. I wore the dress with pride, and I knew that my accompanying stilettos made me look hot. I was going for sex appeal tonight and if the looks of all the men in the lobby were anything to go by, I had achieved the look quite successfully. Brandon was sitting on a chair waiting for me, and my heart stopped when our eyes met. I saw the look of surprise, desire and lust as he took me in. Then he smiled at me, a warm, gentle smile that reminded me of when we first met, and I was taken back to the days when we were friends and lovers.
“You look beautiful, Katie.” He stood up and reached for my hand. “I see you’re finding it easier to walk in heels.”
“Not really,” I giggled, already slightly buzzed from the two glasses of red wine I had enjoyed while getting dressed. “I may need to hold your arm as we walk.”
“That’s fine.” He held out his arm for me. “I’ll be your knight in shining armor. I’ll be there to catch you if you fall.”
“Thank you.” I smiled at him and my heart constricted as I remembered the last time he had said those words to me. We’d been in Central Park on a picnic. I’d been expecting him to pull out a blanket for us to lie down under so that we could have a quickie, but he’d surprised me by pulling out some rollerblades. “No way.” I shook my head vehemently. “I have no balance. No way I’m rollerblading.”
“Come on, Katie.” He pulled me up. “It will be fun.”
“I’m going to fall.”
“I won’t let you fall.” He pulled me towards him. “I’ll never let you fall.”
“I’m a klutz, trust me, I’ll fall.”
“I’ll be your knight in shining armor. I’ll be there to catch you if you fall.” He kissed the top of my head and I could hear his heart beating as I lay my head against his chest. I looked up at him and the sincerity and love was pouring out of his eyes. I leaned into him and pressed my lips on his. Our kiss was sweet and special and filled with promises. In that moment, I knew that Brandon would always be in my heart and I would always be in his. We were connected as one.
“Then come on.” I’d laughed and pulled off my shoes. “Let’s go rollerblade before I change my mind.” And we’d spent the rest of the day holding hands and rollerblading through Central Park, and I hadn’t fallen once.
“Shall we go?” Brandon smiled at me gently and I nodded. We made our way out of the hotel and I nearly tripped as he stopped suddenly. “I want to apologize.”
“Oh?” My heart stopped as I held onto his arm.
“What I did today, it was wrong. I shouldn’t have taken advantage of you.”
“You didn’t take advantage of me.” I made a face. “I was willing and able to say no.”
“I couldn’t help myself.” He sighed. “When I saw you in the elevator, I couldn’t believe it. I’d been waiting for, anticipating even, that moment forever. And I just got caught up in myself.”
“I guess no one can say we don’t have sexual chemistry.”
“I want you to know something.” He held my hands and caressed them. “I want you to know that what Maria and I have, it’s not what it seems.”
“She’s not your fiancée?” I asked him hopefully and my heart fell as he shook his head.
“She is, but it’s complicated.” He made a face. “So tell me about this guy you’re dating. Did you say his name was Matt?”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “He’s a nice guy, very dependable. Seems to like me a lot.”
“Really?” He frowned. “Close to engagement?”
“I don’t know.”
“Does he make your body tremble when he f**ks you?”
“No.” I sighed as I continued. “We haven’t slept together yet.”
“Oh.” He smiled. “I see.”
“We’re waiting, so that we can make it special. Relationships and sex are about more than some quick f**ks.” I said spitefully, wanting to hurt him.
“But sometimes the quick f**ks are the best ones.” His hands crept up my back. “Sometimes, you want your man to just push you up against the wall.” He grabbed ahold of me and pushed me back. “Sometimes, you want him to take charge and slide his hand around your waist and push himself into you, so that you can feel his hard erection against your stomach.” He pushed into me then and I felt his hardness against me. I stared up into his eyes wanting to stop him, but also wanting to see how far he was going to take this. He adjusted himself so that his leg was in between mine, and his c**k was positioned by my inner thigh. “Sometimes, you dream of your man bending his head.” His lips moved to my neck and his tongue trailed to my collar bone. “And lowering his lips.” He kissed down the valley in-between my br**sts and I stood there frozen, not caring if anyone was walking past us and wondering what was going on. “Sometimes you want your man to show you who’s the boss.” His hand reached up my stomach and stopped right below my breast, before slipping into the top of my dress and caressing my breast. “Because, Katie,” he looked up at me with a light in his eyes as he squeezed my nipple. “Women like to be possessed. They like to be taken. They like to feel sexy and sensual and they want to feel loved.” He leaned forward and kissed me hard as his hand pushed the top of my dress to the side. He bent his head quickly and took my nipple in his mouth, sucking it eagerly and nibbling on it as he would candy. I closed my eyes as ripples of pleasure swept through me. My hands fell to his head and ran through his hair as he sucked. I let out a whimper as he released me from his warm embrace, and then sighed again in relief as he transferred his lips to the other nipple. I felt my knees buckling and his arm wrapped around my waist and held me against him and the wall firmly. His erection pushed into me even more urgently and I reached my fingers down to squeeze it gently. I tried to unzip his pants, but he pushed my hand away and pulled away from me. He looked at me and smiled. “You see, Katie? Sometimes the quick f**ks are the most exciting and exhilarating. Sometimes they turn you on more than you seem to want to admit. Unfortunately, this is not your lucky night.” His eyes mocked me as he moved away from me completely. “Tonight, you will have to hope that your boyfriend, Michael or Tad, or whatever his name is, gets some gumption and makes a move soon. Because, little girl, tonight will not be the night that you get any from me, no matter how sexy your dress is.”