ONE NIGHT STAND (A Billionaire Bad Boy Romance) by Bella Grant (22)

Nick watched her as she departed in his limo. He wondered how the meeting had gone from good to bad in such a short span of time. Nick thought about how her lips had called to him and how her deep, thoughtful eyes had pulled him into her. Yes, the timing had been bad. Olivia Newton, his ex-girlfriend, had wanted to say hello. But his need for Sara had overtaken his common sense. He had really wanted to kiss her. Not because Olivia was there, but because he had wanted to. He had kissed her and everything went downhill from there.

Nick wanted to get as far away from the party as he could. He started walking back to the woods, away from all the lights and music, hoping to forget, even if for a few minutes, that he was supposed to be a host. Zia was there, and whenever Zia was around, everything went well. No one would miss him.

His thoughts shifted to Sara the further away he got from the party. She had been getting under his skin, messing with his mind, since he’d met her at the café. And today she was even more beautiful than ever. It was impossible to let her go even if he wanted to. Until he possessed her and enjoyed her succulent curves, he would never get her out of his mind. He wandered further away from the house, his mind playing over the events of that night. He needed to find a way to see her again, and hopefully, talk her into at least accompanying him for dinner. Apparently, the surprise invitation and diamond necklace had not worked. He had to work harder.

Damn her! He sat on a rock, loosened his tie, and started playing with rocks. He was engrossed in his thoughts, oblivious of his surroundings, when he heard Zia asking his staff his whereabouts.

“Shit,” he cursed as he looked at the time. He had forgotten himself and let more time than he had intended slip away from him. He heard Zia curse and tell the staff to locate him as the silent auction was about to start. He couldn’t see her face, but he could imagine she was mad at him, or maybe concerned by his disappearance. He wasn’t one to do that in the middle of an event. Zia would be on his neck as soon as the last guests left.

Nick didn’t want to go back to the party. Given the choice, he would have simply undressed and gone swimming naked under the moonlight. Swimming calmed him, and after his heated incident with Sara, he needed a little more than calming. But not tonight. He couldn’t swim naked with guests wandering around. He sighed and turned to head back to his house. As he got closer, he heard Zia calling out his name. He sighed once more, knotted his tie, which he had loosened, and wiped off the dust which he imagined was on the back of his pants.

He wished he had a few more moments of privacy to think of Sara. He wanted to remember how her mouth felt when he kissed her; how her eyes sparkled when she was mad; how innocent and naïve she was, but business was calling and he had to leave. No need to make Zia any madder than she would be when she realized that the invitation sent to Sara Nolles was a waste.

 

 

SARA

“Do we keep driving, miss?” the driver asked.

“A few more minutes, please.” I couldn’t ask the driver to drive around forever. He had taken me on a scenic tour of the city. I wondered if he'd be in trouble with his boss.

“Yes, miss.”

"I know you have to go back. I'm sorry for taking up your time," I apologized as I looked at my watch and realized we had been driving around in circles for over two hours. My apartment was only a forty-five-minute drive from Nick Saunders’ mansion, and I would have been home over an hour ago had we gone straight to my house. “I guess you need to drop me off.”

"No, ma'am. My instructions were to take you anywhere you wanted and drop you off only when you wanted to go home. Do you want to circle around town one more time?"

"No, it's okay," I said. I was calm, and seriously, it wasn’t the end of the world even if Amy did chew me out when I got home. I had to face her some time and now was better than later. "You can take me home, please.”

“Yes, miss,” the driver said as he slowly turned the limo around.

No sooner than the limo pulled up to my apartment did Amy come running out. She had been sitting at the window, watching and waiting for my return. She flung the door open before the driver could get it.

"Tell me. Tell me everything," she squealed as she practically dragged me out of the limo.

"Hang on," I said as I reached into my purse to give the driver a tip. I only had ten dollars, but that was better than nothing.

"No, ma'am. I can’t take that," he said and bowed. "Have a good night."

"You too. Thanks for everything," I said as I tucked the money back into my purse. I was glad he had rejected the money; it was all I had for lunch next week.

"Sara, seriously! Who gives a ten to a billionaire's driver? He probably makes that in second."

"Well, that's all I had," I protested.

"Never mind. Come on, tell me what happened. Why are you home this early?" She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, crossed her arms on her chest, and waited for me to answer.

"Can we at least go inside first?" I asked, pushing gently past her to make it into the house. She followed me closely.

"Wait, you don't have the necklace? Did he take it away from you? Did you get in trouble?"

"No, no, no. No to all your questions."

"What do you mean? He didn't ask you why you were there?"

"He didn’t need to. Apparently he’s this rich guy that had come to the café a few times and wanted to hang out with me. I think this was his idea of getting closer to me and kissing me…”

"Stop! He what? Nick Saunders kissed you? And you’re saying it so casually as if it’s not a big deal. How the heck did you get him to kiss you, you whore!"

“I didn’t get him to do anything. If anything, it wasn’t mutual.”

"He forced you?”

“No, not exactly.”

“What then? He begged you to kiss him?”

"What? No, Amy. Nick Saunders can get any woman he desires. He has no need to force or beg me. And for what reason? I'm not rich nor in his class."

"So why did he kiss you? I mean, that means he’s attracted to you, right?” Amy came to sit closer to me. “What are you not telling?”

"Nothing. I don’t think he’s attracted to me. I think he was trying to spite an ex-girlfriend."

"What? That's low. Are you sure?”

"I don’t know. That’s what it looked like. We had just met and started to talk, then this poster girl approached us and he asked me to kiss him.”

“And you said yes?”

“No, I said nothing, and he kissed me.”

"And then you ran off?” Amy looked at me incredulously.

“Sort of,” I answered, avoiding her gaze. Amy had a way of making me regret my actions, and she was doing a good job of making me feel like I had done something wrong.

"Sara, please tell me you didn't walk out on the richest man in the world because he kissed you."

"I don’t…"

"Tell me you didn't let Nick Saunders slip out of your hands because he kissed you."

"Amy, the guy kissed me without my permission."

"You just told me he asked you.”

“Yes, sort of.”

“Did you want him to kiss you?”

“Yes, kind of,” I said. Now that I was away from him, I admitted I had loved the feel of his mouth on mine.

“Amy! Do you know how many girls would die to have him touch them? And he went as far as kissing you. Nick Saunders is not a kisser!”

"How would you know that?” I asked, but before she could answer, I figured it out. “You read it somewhere.”

“Yes, I did. He said he never kisses women. Too intimate for him.”

“I guess he lied then,” I said.

"Or maybe he likes you.”

"I don’t know,” I said.

"Did he enjoy it?” Amy asked.

“Fuck, Amy. How would I know?” I said. “He didn’t seem to mind, but that doesn’t give him the right to kiss me without my permission. We're two different people. In my world, men ask for permission to kiss women. No, only a man I am dating has a right to kiss me. I don’t care how rich he is, a random stranger cannot just kiss me because he can buy the whole world. I don't know about you, but..."

"That's okay, Sara. I spent the whole week getting you ready and this is how it ends. You're telling me I'm a whore because you're a virgin?"

"I didn't say that."

"Then what are you saying? In your world, in my world. Maybe you should let a man fuck you really hard so you can lose that air of innocence around you. Sometimes you make me sick."

Amy was right. Maybe I was too naive about the world to know how things worked. Maybe a billionaire kissing me wasn’t the worst thing on earth. Maybe I had overreacted, but seriously, why would I not? It was offensive to take advantage of me. Nick Saunders had been wrong.

"Amy, I'm sorry. I didn't plan for the evening to turn out this way. It's just that you don't go to a ball uninvited every day, and you certainly don't plan to be kissed every day either." I hugged Amy, who was pouting. She ignored me for a moment but returned the tight embrace.

"I'm so sorry, Sara. I'm totally wrong. I should be mad at Nick for kissing you without your permission and rather I'm mad at you for running away from him. That's so insensitive."

I wanted to agree with her, but I knew when to leave things alone. Amy hardly ever apologized, and her apologies carried a lot of weight. I needed to back down.

"Amy, that's okay," I said. That seemed to cheer her up. She put her purse down and made me sit next to her. She turned on the desk lamp nearby and saw my face.

"Oh gosh, Sara, you’ve been crying! You look like a mess. I'm so sorry," she said as she grabbed a tissue to wipe away my tears, which had since dried.

"It's okay. I'm fine now. I was just so mad and confused, and you know how it is."

She nodded, and after a few minutes of comfortable silence between us, she looked at me with a mischievous smile. "So tell me, how was the kiss?"

"Really?” I asked, blushing. My flustered face didn’t get past her.

"You liked it! You virgin-whore," she said, punching me playfully.

"I didn't like it," I said, stifling a giggle.

"Oh now, Sara Madison Nolles. I know you did. That smirk on your face tells me all I need to know. You totally enjoyed being ravished by a billionaire!”

"I'd hardly call a quick kiss ravishing. But it wasn't so bad."

"Wasn’t so bad? Did you enjoy it or not?”

"I don't know. It wasn't totally bad. It was too short, I guess, but it was sort of unexpected, warm and nice."

"You whore!"

"Can you please stop calling me a whore?" I teased. "I might actually start believing you."

"Trust me. No one is going to mistake you for a whore. Even if you had a large neon sign on your forehead advertising your pussy for sale.”

"Amy, you're so vulgar."

"One of us has to be. So tell me, do you plan on repeating the kiss?"

I looked at her like she was kidding. Repeat the kiss? The man would probably kick me out of his house if I ever came near him. “Only if I wore a mask and he didn't recognize me. I treated him like he was evil or something.”

"Unless..." Amy had that grin I hated, the one she always wore when she was about to make me do something that was not too smart.

"You're evil," I said.

"What do you mean?" Amy smiled innocently.

"See that smile of yours? It was the same one that got me detention in Mr. William's English class."

"That wasn't totally my fault. You said you liked John Dixon, and I just gave him a note from you."

"No, a note from you saying he was all I could think about every day. And you gave it to him in the middle of class. Do you remember my horror when Mr. Williams read that note and said it was signed by me?" I laughed. It had been so long since I had thought of that story, I could laugh about it. I hadn’t ratted on Amy and had to live down the shame as if I were the one who wrote the love note.

"I know. And you know, I remember the note very well. Dear John Dixon. I like you a lot. I really really like you. I'd really like it if you kissed me after class. Love, Sara Nolles."

"Yes! It was not funny then," I said, trying to keep a straight face.

"Maybe not, but what has John Dixon got to do with Nick Saunders?"

“Nothing. Just that I know you can get pushy when it comes to my affairs with men, but try as much as you want, I will not date Nick Saunders.”

"Oh well, your loss. Did you return the necklace to him?”

"He wouldn’t take it back. The driver wouldn't take it back. I can't wear it. I mean, I cannot accept such an expensive gift. If he already thinks he can kiss me because I was in his house, can you imagine what he would do to me if I wore the necklace?”

"Well, you're not going to wear the necklace. But we are going to use it to get you what you want.”

"What I want?" I asked, dreading the answer. She knew what I wanted, rather who I wanted, but I didn’t want Amy’s help because she had a way of complicating things. They were already complicated enough. Maybe I should have stayed and listened to him; we might have shared another kiss or two. We might be dancing together right now. Maybe he would have introduced me to his other guests, and I'd have met someone who would offer me a job. Or maybe I could have talked about a job with him.

So many maybes if Nick hadn’t kissed me. If Olivia hadn’t stopped by and the kiss had been mutual, things would have been different.

“What you want is Nick,” Amy said.

“Why would you think I want Nick?” I sounded defensive, but I hated it when Amy read my mind.

“When Olivia Newton showed up, you freaked.”

“How do you know her last name?”

"There's only one Olivia I know who is rich enough to be there. Oliva Newton. The Italian supermodel."

"Oh...it was her. I knew she looked familiar."

"He dumped a supermodel for you? Wow! You must have impressed him."

"No, she must have kicked his tail so bad he was too ashamed to be seen as a loser, or maybe he just wanted to prove he can get any woman he wanted without her. I’m not sure what type of sick game he was playing, but he’s had his fun and I won’t be part of it.”

"So, you’re not going to kiss him again?”

“No, I won’t,” I said emphatically. “You need to drop this.”

“Sure, I will, but don’t you have to return his necklace to him?”

"Dreading it, but yes,” I said. Even to my own ears, my lie was evident. I did want to see Mr. Rich again and was glad I hadn’t returned the necklace. It gave me a good reason to see him again.

“So we’ll take it back.”

“We?” I asked.

“Yes, we. I don’t want him to kiss you again without your explicit permission.” She had a faint smile on her face that told me she was mocking me. “And if my plan works out, he will be begging to kiss you every minute.”

"What are you planning, Amy? Don’t get me in trouble again.”

"I won't get you in trouble, Sara. I promise. But let me do the planning, okay?”

I nodded. What choice did I have? Whatever Amy wanted, Amy got!

 

 

NICK

Nick sat in his office looking out the window. It had been two weeks since the ball, and he had resisted every urge to call Sara and apologize to her, which was the decent thing to do, but his pride was such that he could not do it. That was one of the things he hated about being rich. Pride! He took so much pride in all he did that apologies were out of character for him. Sometimes he hated himself for that weakness, but most times, it worked to his favor. It worked well when he wanted to get a woman in bed - women loved his shrewdness and arrogance. But that wasn’t going to work on Sara. So far, she had proven to be a tough catch, a different ball game. His pride helped him excel in business since he knew how to keep going even when others quit and gave up. His pride was what kept him hanging onto the last thread of hope for the preservation when the family thought all was lost. He knew a lot about pride, but so did Sara, apparently.

He was restless, his mind focused on Sara and that curvy body of hers, his work neglected. He sat there for hours, drinking coffee and nibbling on the orange banana scones his secretary had brought in, his body aching for Sara. He glanced at his phone and saw a missed call from the phone number that was dear to him, Sara’s. She had tried to contact him, but he hadn’t been sure how to respond to her call and had let it got to his voicemail. He knew she was calling to return the necklace, but he didn’t want her to do that just yet. If she kept it, she would have something that linked them.

A knock at his door interrupted his thoughts. "Yes," he answered absentmindedly. The door opened and his sister walked in. "Hi, Zia," he said, not too excited to see her when he saw the pile of papers in her hands.

Zia’s main interests were numbers and business. Nick appreciated her and all she did, but he was in no mood to talk business. He wanted to send her on her way with the least suspicious reason. If she found out what had happened at the ball, she would give him a lesson on how to treat women. Zia had already told him a million times he needed to treat women better, but she knew his inner pride sometimes made it hard for him to distinguish what was right and what was primal.

"I have the final numbers," Zia said as she pulled up a chair across the desk from him.

"Sure," Nick mumbled.

"So, after tallying all our donations and proceeds from the auction, we actually met and exceeded our budget." She was excited, and Nick didn’t want to kill her joy.

"Good job, sis. If anyone can do things, you can. Over-achiever!"

"Whatever, you know I'm good," Zia said. "And I thought we'd outgrown that teasing."

"You mean over-achiever?" he asked, smiling.

"Yes, that one," Zia pouted.

"Well, little sis, I get to decide when I stop messing with you.”

"Whatever, Nick. Anyways, I've been meaning to ask you a question about the night of the ball.” Nick's smile was replaced by a small frown that deepened by the second. "Not trying to meddle with your affairs, but Grandma told me about this girl you were talking to.”

"What girl?" Nick asked, pondering whether to tell her how much he really liked Sara. Zia was territorial, and he often wondered what she would do when he got married? Move in with him and his spouse? She’d made it her duty to protect him since they were kids and she had never let go of that responsibility.

"Some curvy chick she said she liked. And you know Grandma doesn’t like most of your girlfriends, so I assume this one is good.”

"Maybe."

"And Diane told me the girl left early."

Nick looked at her, the frown deepening even more, creases appearing on his forehead and lips. "Zia, you know better than to discuss my business with the staff."

"I wasn't discussing you. Diane felt I should know that one of our guests left unhappy."

"One of my guests, not yours."

"You know very well what I mean. One of your guests, fine. So you made some lady, your guest, cry and go home. What did you do to her, take her ‘candy?’” She put air quotes around candy.

"Not yet, Zia.” Nick giggled a little at her inappropriate joke. “But I don't want to discuss her."

"Ok, don’t tell me,” Zia said, her eyes widening as she rose from the chair and walked around to Nick. She sat on his table so he could not escape her. “She is the one!”

"Zia, you’re jumping to conclusions. Haven’t you learned not to listen to Grandma?”

“No, and she did have a point. You really like this girl. Sara, right?”

“There’s nothing going on between us. Drop the topic. You’re going to spread a rumor about something that doesn’t exist.”

“Me, spread a rumor? The entire staff saw you kiss her and watched her leave a few minutes later. You won’t admit this girl has you whipped!”

"Zia, you need to leave my office. We can continue this meeting later. I'm going for a walk."

“That won’t make your problem go away,” Zia chuckled.

“Trust me, it’ll make my little sister go away for now,” he said. He smirked at her and left her sitting on his desk.

"Please take my messages. I'm going for a walk," Nick said as he passed Bev, his secretary.

Just then the phone rang. "Mr. Saunders," Bev called before he disappeared around the corner. "You have a phone call. A Sara Nolles."

He stopped as if he were thinking about it. "Take a message. I’ll call her back when I can.”

He was being rude, but he was not ready to face Sara again, not so soon. With other women, he was never nervous about seeing them again. They worshipped the ground he walked on. Sara, on the other hand, hardly cared about his money or riches. She had demonstrated that by trying to return the necklace and walking out on him and his money just because he kissed her.

He had regretted the kiss since his lips touched hers. Not because he didn’t want to kiss her. He did, and so badly, but after that moment of tenderness, when he had taken her mouth with his, he had realized that he could never kiss another like that. His father had told him years ago that he knew his mother was his soulmate based on their first kiss. And Nick knew Sara was special to him, and he had to convince her of that.

He walked past his security and elevators, and walked out the sliding glass doors of the main building. The air was crisp, a beautiful fall day. He breathed in the air, allowing it to hit his lungs gently and calm his nerves. He sometimes wished he practiced yoga. It would have helped him to relax.

He weaved through the streets of New York City like a pro. On days like this when he needed to escape his office and couldn’t get home, he imagined New York City thousands of years ago with land fertile and undeveloped. He imagined his forefathers, who would have wandered the forest, foraging for food, providing for their families, and protecting their mates. They would have been totally unaware of the changes that were to come thousands of year later. He imagined if he and Sara had been alive then, they would have found each other and become one.

The sound of a car’s horn directed loudly at him made him stop. He had lost track while walking, letting thoughts of Sara cloud his mind so much that he was almost run over by a car. He had wandered into oncoming traffic without thinking.

“Watch where the fuck you’re going!” the taxi driver yelled at him.

“Sorry,” Nick said as he stepped out of the way. The taxi simply sped off. Nick cursed at himself but kept walking, careful to pay a little more attention to his surroundings. He was heading for his favorite park where he always found peace. It wasn’t the fanciest park and nor was it secluded, but he could see the zoo and feel a connection to nature. The park wouldn’t be busy today. It was never busy on Tuesdays, which was great. He could relax without too much distraction.

He turned right and started walking toward the familiar route of the park. Once in a while, when he needed to clear his head, he would come out to the park to run during lunch, but today wasn't a day he wanted to run. He usually kept his running gear in the office for easy access. But today, he just wanted to blend in. He simply wanted to walk and see what other people were doing.

The park was crowded with children running, playing ball, swinging, and sliding. He sat at one corner of the playground, mindlessly observing people. There weren't too many men in the park, but there were a lot of women chasing after children.

His thoughts went to Sara, who would make a good mother. She had the curves for it. She would make a good mother to the sons and daughters they’d bear, just like his mom had been.

Nick thought of his two younger brothers, Michael and Ian, who he hadn't seen in years. When their parents had died in a car accident, leaving the family business to the children to manage, their lives had changed. Michael had taken off to Europe. He claimed he wanted to explore the world and live wild for a few years. Nick was jealous of him. He wanted to explore the world too, but he and Zia had inherited the overseeing of the day-to-day operations of the family company because they had heads for numbers, according to his parents. He never asked what his brothers were good at; he had simply assumed the role.

Ian had moved to California a few months ago, signing off on the business as well. He had moved in with his girlfriend and they didn't hear much from him. This was good as far as he was concerned. Ian had trouble written all over him, and years ago, when they were one big family, Ian had always caused trouble. When he announced he was moving out of town, Nick could not have been happier. Granted, some days it was hard to run the family business with just the help of Zia and the occasional meddling of their grandmother, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.

He found an empty bench and sat on it in a position that allowed him to watch the kids. The children seemed excited to be playing. He smiled as he watched a young boy, no more than three or four, holding a girl and giving her a hug as they flew down a slide. Even kids knew how to express love, something he admitted to himself he didn’t know. The girl said something to the boy and he kissed her quickly on the cheek – an innocent, playful kiss. He was jealous of them. The girl had not run off the way Sara had, and she and the boy were now playing in the sand. Maybe if he had asked Sara’s permission, she would have let him kiss her. But he doubted it. She was going to be hard to get.

But the feeling that she was his soulmate was getting stronger by the day, and if he didn’t want to be more messed up than he was, he had to get close to her. Offer her something, something she couldn’t refuse. But the first thing he had to do was find her and talk to her.

 

 

SARA

I stood at the main entrance of Saunders Empire, wondering how I got there. The night before, Amy had convinced me to go to Nick Saunders’s office and talk to him, to return the necklace and confront him for kissing me. She had opted at the last minute not to go with me in order to “control herself.” I didn’t ask her what she meant, but knowing Amy’s knack for causing problems, I was relieved she had decided not to go with me.

“Don’t let him push you around,” she giggled. “Come back in one piece.”

Amy had used the word push to make fun of me. Left to her, she would have gladly gone back for more pushing from Nick. Like she’d said to me right before she left, "Who wouldn't want to be kissed by a billionaire?” Apparently I'm the only girl on earth who didn't want some stranger shoving his tongue down my throat. Billionaire or not.

As I debated whether to go in and demand to see him, some lady brushed past me. She looked very familiar; actually, she looked exactly like Nick, except she was the female version of him. This was the famous twin Amy had alluded to. The resemblance between her and Nick was too apparent to be missed.

She walked a few steps ahead of me. She was tall with dark, bouncy, black hair and heading for the entrance when she turned around to face me. "I know you from somewhere," she informed me, walking back. "Are you coming in?"

"Yes," I replied.

"Come on then," she said as she walked through the door, which had been held open for her. I followed her closely.

“Thanks. Are you Nick's sister?" Once the words left my mouth, I regretted speaking. I had called him Nick like I knew him well. The way his name rolled off my tongue, no one would have known that the only interaction the two of us had shared so far was a kiss I had been an unwilling participant in.

She stopped in the middle of the reception area and turned around. She didn’t answer my question, but she looked at me from head to toe as if assessing me. "So you’re a friend of my brother’s?” she asked. “Interesting.”

The way she said it made me self-conscious. I probably wasn't what she was used to seeing when compared to Nick's fleet of mega-rich brats and bitch girlfriends, aka sluts. Maybe I wasn't skinny enough or maybe I wasn’t slutty enough. I looked down at my clothes. Yes, second-hand clothes, even though nice, hardly made a good impression on a billionaire princess.

"Not really," I said. “Well, sort of.”

"And you're here to see him?"

"Yes."

She looked at me a little longer, like she was trying to determine what to do when a look of recognition flashed over her face as she walked to the elevator. "I'll take you to my brother," she said, getting into the elevator and holding it open for me.

I scrambled in, noting that the elevator was fancier than the best hotels I'd ever been to. I could smell her perfume – a fruity, exotic scent that had probably been made for her.

"So, where did you meet my brother?" she asked casually as she pressed the button to the penthouse once the door of the elevator closed.

I glanced at the penthouse button and all sorts of naughty things crossed my mind before I remembered that I was simply here to return a necklace to Mr. Rich.

"We met…ah...at the ball," I answered, and again, I regretted my words. She would have been at the ball and that ball was supposed to be for guests they already knew. I didn’t want to get Nick in trouble, though I doubted anyone could ever do that. I hoped she assumed I had come with someone else and happened to meet him.

"You must be Sara Nolles," she said flatly, but I saw a mischievous smile curve her face. "I can see why my brother likes you.”

I wanted to refute the idea that Nick liked me, but Zia didn’t look like she was in the mood to talk too much, and besides, she didn’t look like someone I wanted to argue with. She would probably win.

"He doesn't really know me..." I began, but I was cut off by the ding of the elevator. We had arrived at the penthouse. She entered a security access code since the elevator needed one to let us out and into the penthouse. She put her thumb on a screen to confirm her identity.

I watched silently, trying not to get too excited. All that separated Nick and me was a fancy elevator. Why do Nick and his sister need high security access? I assumed they had grown so rich they’d probably made enemies along the way, people like Olivia who probably stalked Nick. Or maybe I was letting my imagination run wild again and the security access was just to restrict unauthorized access to their company’s sensitive materials. That made more sense than Olivia stalking Nick at the office. That was more hilarious, though. I chuckled to myself. Nick’s sister turned to look at me, and I quickly pretended I was straightening my skirt suit.

I would never have to worry about security as long as I remained nicely broke - one of the benefits of having ten dollars to my name. And since there was no boyfriend in the picture, I wasn’t worried about some man coming after me for retaliation.

The elevator finally opened to reveal another security check, a man dressed in a crisp security uniform. "Good day, Ms. Saunders," he greeted as she walked by, but he stopped me briefly. “Security access?" he asked.

"Huh?"

"Your name tag?" he asked.

"You can do a quick finger scan, Dan. She's with me," Ms. Saunders said.

The security guard pulled out a device that looked like a small, handheld game and asked me to place my thumb on it. At first I was hesitant because I didn't know what having my fingerprint meant, but the urge to see Nick overwhelmed my need to protect myself or my identity, so I placed my thumb on the scanner. In five seconds, the scanner beeped and showed that I was clear.

"Thank you, ma'am," the man said.

"Ms. Nolles," I corrected, but he already knew that; the handheld device let him print out a laminated temporary ID card which had my name and picture. He handed it to me.

"Please hold on to that while you are in our facility. Have a pleasant day, Ms. Nolles."

"Tough security," I commented to Ms. Saunders as I rejoined her where she was patiently waiting for me.

"Yes, we must protect our employees.”

I didn't ask what they were being protected from.

Nick’s sister opened the door and entered an office space with several people sitting behind really nice glass offices, all working. She walked fast, but I kept up her pace. She walked toward a section of the room with a placard emblazoned with “Nick Saunders” in bold letters.

A woman who was on the phone quickly got off and greeted her.

"Hello, Bev," Ms. Saunders replied without a smile. In the few minutes I had spent with Nick’s sister, I understood that she was polite but never smiled. I wondered if she ever smiled.

"Is Nick here?" she asked as she walked toward an office behind her, but before she could open the door, the secretary replied.

"He's gone out for a walk."

"How long has he been gone?" Her face showed her concern. I wondered why. I'm sure it was perfectly safe for a grown man to take a walk on his own. Unless she was afraid he was out of the security blanket when he was gone for too long. I stifled a smile.

"About thirty minutes. He said he'd be back in an hour." I followed her eyes to a clock on the wall. 12:30.

"This is Ms. Nolles. She's here to see Nick. Make sure her needs are met until Nick returns."

"Yes, ma'am. But she doesn’t have an appointment."

One look from Ms. Saunders and Bev backed down, sat, and turned on her computer. "Then find her one."

"Right away, ma'am."

"Sara, it was nice meeting you. I will see you again. I’m Zia Saunders, by the way." She flashed me a smile - the first I had seen. She had a dimple in one cheek, just like her brother’s, when she smiled.

"Thank you so much, Ms. Saunders," I said.

"Call me Zia. I'll see you soon," she said with such certainty that I totally believed her.

 

 

NICK

When Nick returned from his walk, his eyes widened in shock. The woman in the waiting room of his office wasn’t supposed to be here. How did she get here? He had left specific instructions for the staff to only let people up to the penthouse with his or Zia’s approval. Had Zia already met Sara? Did all hell break loose?

So he took a couple of breaths and calmly walked toward her, willing his body to stay calm. She had the power to make him lose control even when she wasn’t trying, and now was no different. His pants grew tighter at the sight of the fishnet tights on her endless legs. She was wearing a red and black skirt and a really cute white top that showed off a little more of her cleavage than he was comfortable with. Keeping his hands off her was going to be a dare he didn’t know if he’d win.

Even though she wore a spring coat - a red coat that covered some of her outfit, he could sense her curves, and the knowledge of how good her body looked was driving him crazy. All he wanted was to run to her and hold her, kiss her and hope she didn’t run away. But he knew better than that. If he so much as touched her again without her permission, his ass would be fried for it. He was weak for her, but he didn’t want to go to jail for not being able to control his desire for her.

Someone was watching him watching Sara. He looked over at Zia’s office. She smiled and waved at him with two thumbs up. He knew she had authorized Sara to come up to his office. Even though Nick didn’t need Zia’s approval to date anyone, her approval of Sara only validated the fact that he could not give up on pursuing Sara until she became his.

He took quick steady steps towards his office, and as Bev saw him approach, he saw her look from him and to Sara, a look of helplessness in her eyes, like she couldn’t do anything to keep Sara away from his office.

“Ms. Zia said it was okay,” Bev said. “She has no appointment.”

"It is okay, Bev,” Nick said. He couldn’t be mad at Bev for something she couldn’t prevent. He knew Zia was tough to get around. Heck, he sometimes found it difficult to get around Zia once she set her mind on something.

"Sorry, sir," Bev said, shrugging her shoulders as she sat back at her desk

“It’s okay. I’ll take it from here,” he said, smiling at the woman who still looked worried.

"Ms. Sara Nolles?" Nick said as he approached her, holding his breath as he waited for her to turn around and look at him. Those lips. He dreaded seeing those lips again, but he had better self-control this time. He willed his body to behave and his piece in his pants to stay calm.

 

"Mr. Saunders. Sorry to disturb you at work, but I had to see you," Sara said as soon as she saw him. “It’ll only take a few minutes.”

“It’s a pleasure to see you,” Nick said. He wanted to say he was surprised to see her, but that would be a lie. He knew that as long as she had that necklace, their paths were going to cross; he just hadn’t expected to see her so soon after the kissing incident.

“Thank you for seeing me,” Sara said as she reached into her pocket to pull out the box before he could open his office door. “This belongs to you. I can’t keep it.”

Nick hesitated a little, then took the box from her.

‘It’s lovely, and I’m sorry. But I can’t keep it,” Sara said. “I hope you understand.”

“I do,” Nick said. He couldn’t force the necklace on her.

“Thank you,” Sara said. She rose to leave. “I better leave you to get some work done.”

“Wait,” Nick said. He needed to stall her. Once she left his office, she was gone forever from his life. He couldn’t let that happen.

“Yes?” Sara said.

“I’m glad you made it to the ball.”

“Oh, it was my pleasure. My best friend made me go. She’s obsessed with you.”

“Then I should meet her someday to thank her for making you come,” Nick said, watching her closely, hoping his statement would help her open up to him, but she simply smiled and gathered her things, ready to leave his office.

“She’ll be thrilled,” Sara said.

“Do you have a moment to spare?” Nick asked as he opened his office door. He had to try and woo her, just enough to make her spend the rest of the day with him.

“Yes, a few minutes,” she said.

Nick noticed the look of anticipation in her eyes, like she wanted something more than she was letting on. Maybe she did like him as much as he liked her. "Please come inside," Nick requested. He led her into his office, opening the door wide to let her in.

She walked in front of him and he walked behind, his eyes glued shamelessly to her behind. He observed her as she walked, her hips moving and gliding against the fabric of her coat. He knew what was wrapped underneath her coat - dangerous curves that could mess him up. He shut the door behind him.

"Nice office," she told him, and Nick pointed to a seat for her.

"Thanks." He smiled as he sat across from her.

"Very nice,” she said when she noticed a huge 3D painting of a large forest that took up most of one wall of the office. “I like the outdoors. Impressive painting.”

"Thanks," Nick said. Impressive was not the word most girls he had brought to his office used for that picture. In fact, none of the girls he’d ever dated had noticed or commented on the picture. They had been too busy trying to spread out on the table for him, something Sara was clearly not going to do anytime soon.

"You must love the outdoors," Sara said.

"I do.” Nick looked at Sara, who avoided his eyes. “Do you?”

"Yes," she simply said. “A lot.”

“Great. Then you should visit sometime," he said, pointing at the painting on the wall. “That’s the most peaceful place on earth.”

“It’s real? That’s amazing,” Sara said, her eyes lighting up.

“That's the preservation we raise funds for annually through the ball. My company wants to preserve all nature as we know it.”

Sara looked at the picture again. “Is it okay if I get a little closer?”

"Sure," he said, walking over to the picture with her. The only thing he wanted to get closer to was the woman in front of him, but he didn’t want to scare her any more than he had already. He watched her walk gingerly toward the picture. He gave her some decent space, not wanting to crowd her, but as she stood observing the picture, he inched closer to her.

"There, over there, is a tree that’s over a hundred years old." He drew nearer to her to point at a tree in the picture. Gosh, she was sweet, he thought. She smelled sweet! Her scent was tugging at all the right parts in his body. He could smell her hair - fresh berries with a hint of orange. What conditioner did she use? He wanted to ask her but knew that would be weird.

"Wow. It looks like a lost kingdom. A place you could live forever."

Nick's heart stopped. He would love to own a home close to the preservation if it meant Sara would be with him there forever. They could play all night and sleep all day. Heck, she could even do whatever she wanted as long as she was always close to him.

He looked at her childish admiration of the painting and decided to tease her. "I don't know. A girl like you may not survive there.”

"You'd be surprised. I'm not one of your skinny, blonde girlfriends you can kiss at will."

"Regarding that," Nick said, walking away from the painting so she was forced to follow him. "I am so sorry that happened. It was not meant to happen. I didn’t do it to make anyone jealous, as you imagined."

"So, why did you kiss me? Do you make it a habit of kissing women whenever you feel like it?”

"I warned you," he chuckled. “I did ask you to kiss me.”

"Telling me to kiss you is not a warning. It's a command, and I'm not your child to boss around."

Nick’s tone changed, and his voice lowered. "You’re right, Sara, and I'm truly sorry. I don’t know what came over me. You looked so beautiful that day, and I couldn’t resist the urge to get closer to you. I wanted to kiss you so badly, since the first day I saw you at the coffee shop. I guess I just gave in to my desires when I saw you at the ball.”

Nick looked at her, observing her reaction and wishing he could tell her the truth rather than apologize for a kiss he had loved. If only he could tell her how he felt about her - he wanted to kiss her, hold her, and make love to her right then and always. He liked her so much more than was healthy, and he was prepared to do whatever he needed to do to get her to say yes to him.

“Apology accepted,” Sara said. “I'm flattered.”

Nick looked at her, her innocence overwhelming him. If only she knew how good she looked. Girls like her intrigued Nick, but they were hard to find. They didn’t see their bodies the way men saw them – beautiful and sexy!

"I’m not flattering you," he laughed. “Just stating the obvious. You’re beautiful.”

"Oh," she said, her face turning red. “Thank you.”

“I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I keep doing that. My apologies again,” Nick said.

Nick could tell she was not she used to compliments, which was a shame for someone so pretty. Was she not used to being loved? If he ever got a chance to show her how much he cared for her, he would protect her with all his life, with all his money. He looked at her again, and all he could think of was her parted lips. He wanted so much to kiss her again, but he knew better than that.

"Thank you," she said simply.

 

 

SARA

I looked at the man who had just told me I was beautiful. Beautiful was a word I rarely heard but one I’d take. He was avoiding my eyes as if I’d caught him looking at me. I wanted to tell him how beautiful he was, but I was still mad at him and really needed go home. I had a couple of job resumes I needed to send out and hanging out here, playing friends with him, was not going to make my bills go away.

 

“So the necklace,” he said, taking the box I had given him earlier and replacing it in my hands.

 

I pushed the necklace toward him, sliding it on the table. "It's so gorgeous, but I can't accept it, unless you tell me every invitation card for all your guests was sent with a diamond necklace."

 

"What if I said yes?" he said.

 

I looked at him. One look into his eyes told me that wasn't true. "I'd know that's not true and you’re saying it to make me keep the necklace."

 

"I do want you to keep the necklace, Sara," he said, pushing it back to me.

 

"Why? We've never met. You don't know me. Why would I keep a necklace that looks like it cost a thousand dollars?" The necklace game was getting childish and I needed to end it.

 

"A million," he said casually.

 

"Excuse me?" I asked, hoping he hadn’t said what I thought I’d heard. Why would a person send a million-dollar necklace to a random girl? What if I had sold it and kept the money? I had no clue how expensive that necklace was, and if I had sold it, I'd have been cheated.

 

"Never mind. I shouldn’t have said anything about the price.”

 

"But you did, and I won't keep this," I said and stood. “I don’t know why you want me to keep this necklace so badly. It’s ridiculous. I don’t want to play games anymore.”

 

“I don’t play games,” he said coldly.

 

“Maybe not, but I need to go. I have a million job applications to complete. I don’t have the luxury of sitting in a penthouse entertaining men, women, whatever. I’m sorry, I have to go…”

 

“You’re hired.”

 

"Excuse me?" I asked, looking at him.

 

“You said you needed a job, so I hired you.”

“You just can’t hire me. You don’t even know what my major is or what I’m qualified to do.”

 

“That, Ms. Nolles, is wrong. I have seen your resume, and I did question why and how my company did not retain you after your internship.”

 

“Maybe so,” I replied, wondering how in the world the CEO of a multibillion company would have seen my resume. But he sounded so sure. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had done a background check on me.

 

“I make it a habit of knowing who I hang out with,” he told me, drawing closer to me. I was standing against a wall, and he was too close for comfort.

 

“I guess you did a background check on me?” I asked, my voice disappointing me. Instead of sounding confident, I sounded hollow and weak. Mr. Rich had a ridiculous way of making me hot and bothered.

 

“Not the way I’d have liked to,” he said, drawing even nearer until a kiss between us was inevitable. He hesitated for a moment like he was going to ask me first, so I nodded, rather involuntarily, but it was the answer he needed. His lips crushed mine, and he kissed me like I’ve never been kissed before. At first I was not sure how to respond, but as his kiss persisted, I kissed him back even more furiously. Soon our hands were all over our bodies.

 

“I’ve been thinking of you forever,” he moaned between his kisses. “You don’t know the half of it.”

 

I knew what he meant. Though I didn’t want to admit it, Nick had become a permanent part of my dreams and fantasies, but I wasn’t going to tell him I thought about him every night. No way, at least not now, when I was lost in his arms, his touch. I reached out to hold his head and draw him closer to me. I haven’t kissed many men, but what I was doing was working. Nick was getting hard against me, his cock pushing against my skirt, my stomach. He was moaning as he kissed me.

 

I froze, unsure of what I wanted to do. The good girl in me wanted to put a stop to this, but the bad part of me, the one that wanted Nick so badly, didn’t want to let go. I went with my gut feeling and reached for his hips and pulled him closer to me, causing his cock to dig deeper into me. I wanted him so badly my body was shaking.

 

“Are you okay?” he murmured between kisses. “I can stop if you want me to.”

 

I couldn’t let him stop now. My pussy was wet with anticipation and lust. Only one thing would do: getting his cock inside me.

 

The thought of his fucking me made me shy and sort of brought me back to reality. This guy was a player who had a girlfriend named Olivia as well as numerous other girls on the side. How did I get myself in this situation? I was not one of those girls who gave in to every desire. I wanted so badly to pull out of his arms, curse him out, and leave with the intention of never seeing him again. But I couldn’t. His kiss was too tantalizing to break off. Then he broke it off.

 

“What?” I murmured, and catching myself, I stepped away from him, my shame at having let my guard down overpowering me. I couldn’t look him in the eyes.

 

“I don’t want to rush you, Sara. God knows I want you so bad. I want you and everything you have to offer, but I don’t want to rush you.”

 

I felt stupid. What sort of woman hooks up with Nick Saunders, the official bad boy of the country? What was I thinking? The thought of what could have happened and how Amy would have been excited made me giggle.

 

“What am I missing?” Nick asked.

 

“Nothing. Just my best friend almost came with me to see you, and she backed out at the last minute. Just wondering if she had any idea what might have happened.”

 

“What might have happened?” Nick drew closer to me again, and I stepped aside so we weren’t so close.

 

“I don’t know. We might have….” my voice trailed off.

 

“Might have done what, Sara?”

 

“You know,” I said, embarrassed.

 

“Had sex?” he asked.

 

“Yes.”

 

“Yes, we might have, but I don’t want to rush you,” he said, touching my face tenderly. His hand felt soft and warming.

 

Gosh, this man turned me on just by looking at me. This was ridiculous. Amy was right, I needed to get laid so I could get on with my life. “I didn’t take you for the patient type.”

 

"Did you do a background check on me?” he giggled.

 

"What? No. My friend, Amy, is one of your biggest fans.”

 

"Then I'd love to meet her. How about dinner tonight? You and Amy?"

 

"Ah…okay,” I said hesitantly, wondering how returning a necklace had become an arousing afternoon that led to dinner. "Well, Amy is working late and I..."

 

"You’re off from the coffee shop, and you haven’t started working here yet."

 

"How do you...?” How did he know my schedule?

 

“Know what you’re up to?”

 

“Yes. Are you keeping tabs on me?” I said. I should have been mad at him, but I was flattered that he knew my schedule and we weren’t even together.

 

"I make it my duty to know what I want to know. Dinner at seven then? You, me, and Amy? "

 

“I’ll try.”

 

"Please wear this necklace." He pushed the box back to me. The damn necklace again.

 

“I haven’t even said yes to the invitation,” I giggled as I picked up the jewelry box.

 

"I’m hoping you will. Please take it, and accept the dinner as my apology for kissing you,” he said.

 

"That’s fine, dinner at seven then,” I said.

 

“I’m guessing the only way to make you go out with me is by kissing you?”

 

“What?” My cheeks were on fire. “Of course not. Whatever gave you that idea?”

 

“Well, my illicit kiss got me a dinner date with you. I better score some more dinner dates to bank for the future,” he said.

 

“What…”

 

He didn’t let me finish. His mouth was on mine again, but I was ready for him. He was slow and deliberate like he wasn't rushing, and he truly wanted to explore the kiss. I let my hand drop to his side as he reached out to hold the curve of my ass and pull me closer to him. I let his body melt with mine. I could smell his essence.

 

Again, I felt his cock pressing against my tummy. I was losing my senses, and as much as I wanted to escape his hands, I was too weak to let go. As his hands moved from the curve of my waist toward my ass, I let myself relax. I knew he wouldn't do anything I didn't want. He had been in a position to take me just a few minutes ago, but he had stopped when he assumed I couldn’t handle it. His kiss deepened, his mouth searching mine like he had lost something. Once more, I had the courage to kiss him back with the same fervor. He pressed hard against me, his cock bulging even more as I kissed him. I wanted so much to focus on the kiss, but his cock was so huge I was literally melting in his arms. I broke the kiss, causing him to moan.

 

“Sorry," I said. I wanted so much to glance at his groin out of curiosity, but I knew better. He was well-endowed, I was sure of it.

 

“Don’t be sorry, Sara,” he said. “Don’t tell me you don't feel anything between us."

Nick held my gaze. I would not give him that pleasure by looking away. My lack of submission to him didn’t deter him; instead it made him more eager to be with me as he leaned in so quickly that I didn't see it coming. I didn't resist him, couldn’t resist him. His hands reached beneath my shirt and he hit a snag. I smiled as I let him figure out the best way to get to my breasts was to unbutton my shirt. It didn’t take him long. The buttons came undone like they were burning his fingers. The last one, a hook, got stuck, and before I could help him unhook it, he ripped my shirt apart. For this man, I would rip all the clothes in my wardrobe. He cupped my breast, tenderly at first, then a little harder. I yelped in surprise.

"Are you okay?”

I didn't reply. I put his hand back on my breast and squeezed his hand with mine, enjoying the feeling of pain which had become pleasurable. “Yes, I’m fine.”

He kissed me again and led me to a couch in the corner of his office. Within seconds, I was topless, in just my lacy bra and my skirt and panties. I tried to cover my breasts with my hands, but he gently pulled them away. I knew how much body I had; I had been teased when growing up about my curviness. The thought of a man seeing me naked for the first time was too much.

"You're beautiful. Never forget that," he said as his lips descended on my nipples.

If I had any objections or personal hang-ups, they all dissolved with his kiss. I relaxed into the sofa, my hand reaching toward him and pulling him down to me. I rubbed his hair, his back, his shoulders, anywhere my hands could reach, unsure where I wanted to settle until my fingers finally dug into his back. It spurred him on; he kissed my nipples harder, pulling and tugging and sending jolts of pleasure down my spine and all the way to my pussy. I could feel my panties getting wet. At first I was embarrassed, but then I allowed myself to get lost in the sensations.

“You taste so good,” he said as he lifted his mouth from my nipples and kissed me. He took my entire nipple into his mouth again, and he bit on it softly while looking at me like he wanted to make sure I was okay with moving forward. I wanted to look away, but his eyes were so kind, so endearing. I simply nodded my consent, which caused him to take my nipple between his teeth and bite harder.

He looked at me again and I nodded. He could bite me all he wanted because I truly enjoyed it.

“Are you okay?” he asked and I nodded.

He smiled and took my other nipple in his mouth, biting down softly at first, then harder. He trailed his mouth down the middle of my stomach and to my belly button. Shivers ran through my body, but it got worse when I realized where he was heading. No one had ever touched me there, except me, of course, and this man who was almost a stranger was heading to my pussy like he owned it. I knew I should stop him, but I couldn’t possibly stop him even if I wanted to. I was too turned on to turn back, and I knew from his grunts and moans he wanted me as badly as I did him.

He pulled my skirt down roughly. The only thing that stood between him and my pussy was a pair of white panties that were by no means sexy at all. In fact, I was embarrassed about my panties. I hadn’t planned on sleeping with the enemy when I came to his office, so wearing sexy panties was not on my to-do list. He didn’t even seem to notice my discomfort with my underwear. He put his fingers on the band and pulled them off quicker than I could ever have imagined.

As the panties slid down my legs, I felt some of my wetness on my inner thighs. He had turned me on more than I had thought possible. I reached my hand over his head, feeling a need to give back the pleasure. I yanked his shirt over his head, baring his torso. He was beautiful, but before I could admire his entire body, his face had returned to my body and was dangerously between my legs. I closed my eyes, expecting a finger or his cock inside me. But instead, I felt the warmth of his tongue as it settled on my clit. He was going to lick me. I froze as his lips touched mine, wondering how it was going to feel and how he felt being down there, but those thoughts went away as he licked my juices.

"Sara," he moaned as he licked me.

I could sense his arousal even though I hadn’t touched his cock. I wanted so desperately to touch his cock and tried to stand up so I could touch his shoulder, but he pushed me back to lying position.

“Plenty of time for me,” he said. "Relax."

I relaxed and let the sensation whirling in my pussy envelope the rest of my body and take over my senses. He licked my clit for so long it seemed it would never end, and each time his tongue touched me, I shivered, my sex becoming wetter. I was afraid I would come before he penetrated me, and I really wanted to feel him inside me.

"Please," I begged, moaning softly, trying to pull him up to me.

"Please what?" he teased. “Tell me what you want, Sara.”

"I need you," I said shyly.

He moved up from my pussy and lay on me, pinning me down with his body. I reached out to trace his body. I could definitely tell this man was an outdoors person. He had the definition to show for it. I realized there was so much more about him I didn’t know, but this was not the time to ask questions.

"You sure this is what you want?" he teased.

"Yes," I said, then I noticed him glance at the door.

I remembered we were in his office and the door was unlocked. I wanted to ask him to lock the door, but I knew the moment would be lost if I did that. He must have read my mind. He looked at me and pulled me close to him.

"Don’t worry. No one comes in without my permission.”

I nodded. I wanted to ask about his sister, but she had more important things to worry about than chasing after who Nick was fucking. He didn’t let my worries linger; he quickly pulled his pants off. I closed my eyes, fearful of what I would see.

"Open your eyes," he said gently, reaching out to take my hands away from my eyes. “You can touch it," he whispered.

I let him guide my hands towards him, holding my breath in anticipation of what I’d feel. I didn't know what to expect, having never touched a man's cock. It was warm and firm and he was ready for me. He flipped me around and pinned me down on the sofa. His fingers touched my pussy.

"So warm and wet," he murmured.

I touched his cock, fighting the urge to beg him to fuck me hard. Wet and warm was nice, but all I wanted was to feel him deep in me. He understood what I needed; he positioned himself at my entrance, causing me to inhale sharply. I knew it would hurt, but I was ready. He started by gently nudging at me, like his cock was trying me out for size. After a few nudges, he slid into me, not all the way at first. I stiffened, and he could feel it. He looked at me, our eyes catching.

“This is your first time.” It was a statement, not a question. I felt ashamed that I had no experience in sex. Lying to him was not going to work because he was so experienced he could tell a virgin from an expert.

“Yes,” I whispered in a barely audible voice, shame coursing through me. Maybe I should have taken Amy’s advice and gotten laid before I met Nick.

“And you want to continue?”

“Yes,” I said.

He gently pushed into me a little more. I winced, then relaxed as he pushed all the way in. I felt the pain tear me up like I was being split, but it lasted only a few seconds. He held his cock steady inside of me, then gently pulled out and thrusted into me slowly. The pain was not as intense. I relaxed with each penetration, and soon he was thrusting quickly into me. I held onto him tightly, my body riding along as he moved, his impossible cock fitting like a glove.

Intermittently, his mouth gently claimed mine and let go as he kept rocking me. I reached the height of my pleasure, my moans getting louder. His grunts heightened as he pounded me harder and harder. Then a warm bubble spread inside me, threatening to erupt.

I held onto Nick, screaming his name over and over again as he thrusted so deep into me I started shaking. He was coming as well, his orgasm overtaking him as he held me closer. As our bodies melted together, I knew that Nick was right about one thing. There was something between us, something worth exploring.

 

 

NICK

Long after Sara had left, Nick sat in his office, dreaming about how perfect his afternoon had been. Who would have thought that a girl that pretty was still a virgin in her twenties? He didn’t know New York had any virgins over seventeen years old. He was still lost in his thoughts when a knock sounded at his door, and as usual, without waiting for a response, Zia strolled into the office.

"Someone had a good time," Zia smirked.

"Zia, stop. You let her in."

"She looks decent and I liked her. I thought you'd appreciate her visit."

"Maybe so. What's your point?” Nick said, trying to hide the irritation in his voice. Zia had a way of getting under his skin at the worst moments.

"Nothing. I walked over to discuss serious business, but your office smells like sex.”

"Zia, you really have to start learning how to mind your business. I think you need a man to keep you entertained. I should hook you up with one of my friends. That would keep you busy and out of my hair.”

Zia snarled at him. "You know that's never going to happen. Your friends are all jerks.”

“Probably, but you can't live in the past forever. Being hurt doesn't mean you can't move on. Jason was an asshole for cheating on you, but that was in high school, Zia.”

"Fine, Nick. I think that's enough about me," Zia said firmly, her voice controlled and her tone flat.

"So how can I help you?” Nick said, sitting in his huge leather chair.

"You owe the preservation some money.”

"What do you mean?”

"What do I mean? You've been so preoccupied with getting into Sara’s pants you've hardly given work any thought.”

"Fine. So what do I owe and for what?”

“Your girlfriend’s share of the donation for the ball.”

“Oh, yes,” Nick said. “Take it out of my salary for this month. I did forget.”

“Of course you did. Where your mind’s been, I’d forget if I were you. So tell me, was she as good as she looks?”

“Zia, you don’t give up, do you?” Nick said.

"You should know me by now," Zia said as she started to walk away. “And if you don't want to have little ones all over your house soon, you probably should use a condom next time.”

Nick picked up an eraser off his desk and flung it at her, but she dodged it and closed the door after her.

After she left, Nick still had a smile on his face, partly from the memory of how warm Sara had been, and partly from the fact that his sister was the most persistent person he’d ever met. Zia was a pain in the rear, but he loved her. He liked how Zia teased him about Sara. It meant one thing – she liked Sara. She never liked any of his women. This was the first time she had expressed interest in his female affairs, and it was nice to know his twin also liked Sara.

Thoughts of Sara brought more smiles to his face, and surprisingly, made his pants feel tighter. He was getting a hard on by simply thinking of her. He couldn’t wait to see her later that evening, and hopefully, if things went well, he’d get another chance to show her how much he truly cared for her.

 

 

SARA

I left Nick’s office determined not to overanalyze the situation. I had shamelessly had sex with a man who probably didn’t care too much about me now that he had gotten into my panties. One part of me regretted giving myself so completely to him. The logical thing to do was to call him and cancel the dinner plans we’d made for tonight, then ignore him and let things die. But I knew Mr. Rich too well. He would never back down from anything he wanted, and if he wanted me, there was no escaping him.

 

Amy couldn't make it to the dinner even though she really wanted to go. One of her co-workers was leaving their company and she had to attend an informal send-off dinner.

 

I had wanted her to come with me –almost like a chaperone– but on the other hand, Nick and I had gone too far to need a babysitter.

 

Thinking of sitters, I rubbed my belly. I had been so carried away I forgot to use protection. I crossed my fingers and prayed I was safe. Either way, it was too late to worry. Nick had released his seed in me and I had gladly received it. I didn't want it any other way.

 

Amy came over to my house to dress for her party because, as she had stated over the phone, she wanted to make sure I was dressed appropriately for the occasion.

 

"Amy, you know you don't have to be here," I grumbled as I opened the door, but she pushed past me, bubbling with excitement. I swear no one could be as excitable as Amy.

 

"What do you mean I don't have to be here? Sara, the man would be ashamed of being seen with you, the way you dress. He's used to classy women, remember? Your goal is to entice him and make him want you."

 

I snorted. "What's wrong with how I dress? Besides, I don't need to entice him."

 

Amy placed her purse on the chair and looked at me. "What do you mean?" I tried to hide the smirk on my face but was unsuccessful. "You slut. You total slut! You slept with him, didn't you?"

 

I couldn’t deny it even if I wanted. This was Amy and what Amy wanted, she got. Instead of denying it, I smiled and looked at her with puppy dog eyes.

 

"You are not denying it?”

 

"Amy, how is this your business?"

 

"My best friend loses her virginity and it's none of my business?"

 

"It really isn't. Please don't ask me to tell you the details. Because I won't," I said as I left her standing in the living room. I went to my closet to pick out clothes.

 

"Sara, there is no way I'd let you not tell me. It was your first time and I have a right to know every detail. Was he big? Was he good? Did he go down on you?" She had followed me to my closet.

 

"Amy! I'm not telling,"

 

"Just a little, please. At least tell me if it was good."

 

I stood in my closet, sorting through the hangers, trying to decide what to wear. Suddenly my closet, which had been mostly functional for years, seemed so inadequate.

 

"Help please?" I turned to Amy. If anyone knew how to put together an ensemble, Amy did. She could mix and match my clothes and present amazing selections. But she didn't budge; she stood there, hands akimbo, apparently waiting for me to tell her about my day with Nick.

 

"It was nice," I said in a voice so low you had to be right next to me to hear it.

 

“Just nice?" Amy said, smiling.

 

"It was great and I'm glad I waited for the right man."

 

"Oh, he's suddenly the right man? A few days ago, he was the man who had forced himself on you and now he’s the perfect man? Are you kidding me?”

 

I smiled and nodded. How do I explain how I felt in Nick's arms earlier that day? How do I tell her the secrets Nick and I now shared? We had only just met, met officially, but somewhere deep down, I knew Nick was the right man for me. I wasn't going to rush it, though. I was not the type of person to rush into things, most of the time.

 

"He is sort of cool," I rephrased my sentence, hoping Amy would leave me alone. It seemed to have worked because she looked at me, smiled, moved to my closet, and pushed me to the side.

 

"Let me do this."

 

I moved aside and let her work her magic. In a few seconds, she uncovered a black, silky dress with tags on it. I had purchased it years ago, but it had been too big. I’d kept it because I truly loved it. I had since put on a little weight and the dress might just be right.

 

"I forgot this was here," I told her, taking the hanger from her.

 

"Well, I didn't. We bought it together and I remember how much you liked it. It might fit better now."

 

I pulled the dress over me and walked to the mirror. It had fit like it should, flattering my curves and clinging to the parts of my body Nick would find fascinating.

 

"That's my girl. You're going to knock the socks off this guy. Oh, wait, I forgot. You already knocked his pants off."

 

"Stop!" I said to Amy, playfully hitting her. Yes, he had laid in my arms naked. I remembered the feel of my hands on his skin, how solid he had felt when I traced the definitions in his body. He had been in a hurry to take his clothes off and I hadn’t hesitated either. As I applied my makeup and stepped into a pair of black stilettos, I hoped tonight would be the same.

 

"Your limo is here," Amy announced as we heard a knock on the door. "You know, in New York City, most of us take cabs to dates, not limos."

 

"Well, not all of us date billionaires. What can I say?" I said, smiling and kissing her on the cheek. "Please make sure to lock up after you leave."

 

 

NICK

Nick arrived at the restaurant thirty minutes before the scheduled time. He had never done that, arrived early. Usually he was right on time, or a few minutes late, but Sara wasn't someone he wanted to keep waiting. Not when he had spent the entire day thinking about her and getting lost in the painting in his office.

 

In his dreams, he and Sara transported magically into the painting and lived most of their days there. Of course, he'd have to come back to the real world in order to make money to survive, but he could see spending every spare minute in those lush lands, honoring Sara's body. At the thought of her body, a smile spread across his face. She was exactly what he wanted in a woman. Her ass was shapely - that was probably the first thing that attracted him even though he would never admit that to himself. And her pussy? She had been so warm and tight, he secretly hoped she would let him get that close to her again.

 

At exactly 7:30, the host directed Sara to his table. He didn't have to look up because he knew his limo would be on time. As their eyes caught, he rose and walked toward her, willing himself to stay calm. Sara was so much prettier than the last time he saw her. The black dress she wore made her look like a goddess, and her shoes made her legs seem endless. He swallowed as he walked toward her. He couldn’t wait to hug her tight and hold her. His eyes caught hers again, and he knew the sparkle he saw in them was for him.

 

"Sara, you look lovely." He reached for her, unsure if he should hug her, kiss her, or shake her hand. Yes, they had shared an intimate moment in the heat of passion, but he didn't know how comfortable she was with him displaying his emotions publicly, especially since the ever-lingering paparazzi would splatter her face on the evening news before they got home from the restaurant.

 

Sara made it easy for him; she turned her face, and he planted a kiss on her cheek. It wasn't what he wanted, but he was okay with it. Any closeness to her was sufficient.

 

"Is that all I get?" he whispered after giving her a kiss.

 

He could tell she wasn't sure what he was asking. Instead of repeating his question, he pulled her close to him and claimed her mouth, not caring who was looking. He felt his groin tighten, but he willed himself to say calm, hoping he would survive the few seconds of intimacy they shared without his cock embarrassing him. Other women he had dated hadn't stirred his animalistic instincts like Sara. Yes, he got excited when he saw them and responded adequately to their feminine seduction, but his inner beast had never arisen, until Sara walked into his life carrying his coffee.

 

Sara kissed him back, and he could feel her heart throbbing. She was truly his, no denying it. Now to dine her and see if he could convince her to get closer to him.

"You do love kissing me," Sara said as the kiss ended. “I like it.”

 

"I do," Nick said. "But I guess I’ll have to force it out of you every time."

 

Sara smiled and sat down as the waiter pulled out a chair for her. Nick sat as well and picked up the menu. "I ordered some wine. You seem like a red wine lover," Nick said, smiling suggestively. He already knew that fact about her from reading the report from his private investigator. Red wine and sushi were her weaknesses.

 

"Right again," Sara teased, smiling back.

 

The waiter, who was standing by within ear shot but didn't intrude on them, moved closer to their table and poured wine into Sara's glass.

 

"Thank you," she said as she lifted the glass to her lips.

 

"A toast?" Nick asked.

 

"Oh yeah. Sorry. I don't dine out often." Sara returned the glass to the table.

 

"No need to apologize, Sara. You never have to apologize to me, ever."

 

"Hmmm... you might have to take those words back some day," Sara said. “I can be mean sometimes.”

 

Nick looked at her keenly. Did she just allude to the possibility of something more than this dinner for them? He didn't want to think too much about her words, but he felt a sense of lightness. Maybe she did care for him as much as he cared for her.

 

"So, let's toast to..." Nick’s voice trailed off. His voice never waned when he talked to women, but Sara was not a regular girl.

 

"Friendship?" Sara completed his sentence.

 

"Friendship. The future. Us,” Nick said.

 

"Yes," Sara said. "To friendship and the future."

 

“Cheers,” they said as they clinked their glasses.

 

Nick noticed she didn’t say us, but he didn’t let it bother him. He had sensed she was overly cautious about their budding relationship, and he wanted her to come around in her own time.

 

"What would you like to order?" Nick asked when they put their wine glasses down.

"I'll try the house special," Sara said. “Whatever that may be.”

 

"Playing it safe?” he joked.

 

"I don't play it safe, which is why I ordered something I don't even know about."

 

"That's true. I didn't think about it that way. Let's see if you can handle the suspense." He signaled to the waiter to come take their orders. "I'll have the house special as well."

 

"Have you been to this restaurant before?” Sara asked.

 

“Yes, a few times,” Nick replied. “Why?”

 

“Because you probably already know what the house special is. How is that taking a risk?"

 

"You don't know me," Nick said. "We need to do something about that."

 

"We do?" Sara asked.

 

Nick nodded. "Yeah, you need to know a few more things about me.”

 

“Like what?” Sara asked teasingly.

 

“For one, I have been thinking about you all day. Secondly, I can’t stay still watching you. And lastly, I wish we could leave right now and go somewhere we could be alone, even if it’s just for a few hours.”

 

He watched Sara as she looked at him shyly, his focus on her lips. He hadn’t intended to make her uncomfortable, but he had done it again. She looked like a shy school girl, young, sexy, and innocent and totally turning him on. Those lips. He wanted so much to reach across the table and kiss her fiercely, but that would embarrass her. Besides, he had already made enough show with her for the evening as it was.

 

“Well, that we can do, but only after I get my house special.”

 

"Waiter?” Nick beckoned to a waiter, who was nearby. “How fast can we get our dinner?”

 

 

SARA

The house special, a combination of seafood and veggies, arrived, and between the main course and dessert, I was stuffed and ready to leave the restaurant.

“So, my invitation still stands,” Nick said with a wicked grin on his face.

“What invitation?” I asked as if I didn’t know he wanted me to go home with him.

“Disappearing with you somewhere private. I want you to come with me. Somewhere nice and relaxing.”

I swallowed the words I would have normally said, which caught in my throat. I couldn’t tell him I was not the sort of girl who slept with men on the first date because I had already slept with him before our first date. Instead of talking, I nodded.

“Would you want to go?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said, excited at the prospect of somewhere nice. I bet it was probably his penthouse. Isn’t that where men like him took the women they bedded? The thought of him taking me to the same place he took every girl he met made me feel dirty, but the idea of being with him again and feeling him inside of me superseded my reservations.

“Then I’ll have the limo pick you up tomorrow. We’ll be out of town for a few days.”

“Tomorrow?” I asked, my eyes widening.

“Is that okay?” he asked, looking at me. “We can stay in the city if you’d like.”

“Yes, it’s fine,” I said. “It’s just that I have to pack, and since I don’t know where we’re going, packing will be challenging.”

“No need to. I’ll have one of my assistants get what you’ll need. Of course you might want some of your personal stuff, but I’ll take care of the rest.”

I nodded. This was unreal. Someone was going to shop for me and pack my bag? I could get used to this billionaire lifestyle. “Thanks.”

“My pleasure,” he said. He signaled to the waiter. Once he settled the check, he walked me outside to the limo that had brought me to the restaurant.

“David will take you back,” he told me as he leaned against the limo and pulled me against him.

“What about you? How will you get home?”

He pointed to another limo on the opposite side of the street. I hadn’t noticed it. “That’s my ride,” he said. “I won’t be stranded.”

“Looks nice,” I commented. “Well, good night then.” He kissed me so quickly on the lips I could swear it had not happened.

“I’ll see you in the morning?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said.

***

As usual, Amy was at my apartment when I got in. “So, what happened?” She was standing at the door.

“Can I at least come in first?” I asked.

“Sure,” she said as she opened the door. “So how did it go?”

“Very well,” I told her, pushing past her and walking to my bedroom. She would not give up until she got the response she needed from me. I smiled as I walked quickly away from her. She was hot on my trail.

“Young lady, where do you think you’re going?” she said as she pulled me back.

“Where else would I be going at this late hour? To bed.”

“No way, Sara Nolles. Not until you tell me what you and Nick Saunders were up to.”

“Nothing. He’s taking me somewhere special tomorrow and that’s it.”

“That’s all? You’re going to be locked away in some fancy hotel for days with his hot ass and you say that’s all? How many days are you staying?”

Amy’s question made me realize I hadn’t asked Nick how long our trip would be. He hadn’t volunteered the information either, but I had a feeling he knew I was off work for a couple of days. He knew my every move, which should have made me uncomfortable. I was flattered, though, and had a gut feeling he would never hurt me.

“You don’t know, do you?” Amy asked, eyebrow raised. “I bet you were so excited to go frolicking with him you forgot to ask.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I smiled at her as I pushed past her again. “I need to go to bed. I have an early day with a billionaire tomorrow.”

“You do like him, don’t you?” Amy asked.

“Yes, I do like him. A lot. Maybe more than a lot.”

Amy looked at me suspiciously. “Oh my God, you love him, don’t you?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” I said with a secretive smile, but Amy had hit a raw nerve. I did, in fact, like Nick more than I should, but I wasn’t going to admit that.

“You’re in love,” she sang in a childlike, annoying voice. “You’re in love.”

“Stop, Amy,” I said, smacking her playfully on the arm. “I need to go to bed. See you later,” I said as I tried to close my bedroom door.

“You’re not going to pack your things tonight?”

“No, his staff will take care of all of that.” Amy groaned. “What?” I asked innocently.

“You sound stuck-up and you’re not even married to him yet,” she yelled after me.

“Who said I was marrying him?” I asked as I closed my bedroom door for some peace. A few minutes later, I heard Amy grab a blanket from the closet in the hallway; she was sleeping on my couch tonight. She left me with some hard truth to think about. I was in love with Mr. Rich. Oh great!

***

My doorbell rang at seven the next morning. Nick had sent the limo to retrieve me, and when I opened the door, he was standing there, dressed in a tee-shirt and jeans.

“Hi. Good morning,” I stammered.

“Hello, Sara. Ready?”

“Sort of. I wasn’t expecting you. Thought you’d send David.”

“I missed you,” he said and planted a kiss on my lips before I could reply. “I’ll wait for you in the limo if you prefer.”

“No, here is fine,” I said, smarting from the unexpected kiss. “I’ll just grab my bag and we’ll be on our way. Amy’s sleeping on the couch, and if she wakes up, I don’t think she’ll let you go easily.”

“In that case, let’s not wake her up,” he whispered, smiling. “You look really nice.”

I was wearing a plum sundress with a low neckline. It was one of my favorite outfits because the dress made my breasts perkier while slimming my waist and enhancing my ass. I always got compliments when I wore it, and Nick was no exception. However, his compliment seemed far more important than any other person’s did.

“Thank you,” I said shyly as I reached behind me and grabbed the backpack I had packed the night before. On a second thought, I grabbed my passport before walking to the car with him. It took only a minute to settle into the backseat with Nick and lean against him as if it was normal. He put his arm around my shoulders and drew me close.

“You good?” he asked.

I swallowed hard like I always did when he looked at me so intensely. I whispered, “Yes.”

“Great, because I want you to relax and enjoy this trip.”

I nodded. A sudden thought came to me. No one knew where I was going, not even Amy.

“So where are we going?” I asked, smiling at him. “I just need the address so I can send it to Amy. She’s a mother hen. Don’t want her reporting me as kidnapped.”

“It’s good to have people who love you,” he said. “Give me your phone and I will text it to her. It’s a surprise for you, and I don’t want to ruin it by giving you the exact address.”

I obliged him, my thoughts still on the word love he had just casually thrown at me. Yes, Amy loved me, and I understood what he meant, but he had said “people who love you.” Was he part of that group? I glanced at him as he texted Amy from my phone, doing his best to shield the phone from me so I didn’t know our destination.

“I might need to call in to work,” I commented. “I have to let my boss know I’ll be gone, but I need to know how long we’ll be gone.”

“I already took care of that. They don’t expect you back for a few days.”

“You called my boss?” I asked incredulously. Mr. Rich was rather presumptuous, and I didn’t know if I liked it.

“Didn’t have to. I am friends with your boss, so I can have you all to myself for as long as you’re available.”

I giggled. “Hope that gets you a free coffee next time you go there. I probably will get fired by the time I return and won’t be able to hook you up.”

“You’re probably right,” he said, smiling. “But you will always have a job offer from my company.”

I looked out the window as we passed lush greenery. I had expected we were going out of town, but we seemed to be heading right into town, away from the suburbs.

“Ordinarily, I would have said yes, but you can’t mix business with pleasure,” I teased. “It’s one or the other.”

“It will be a pleasure to work with you,” he added. “Business or pleasure.”

“I have to think about that,” I said, giving him a naughty look. “Pleasure for sure.”

“What’s there to think about? I think I’m charming, handsome…”

“You are all that, which is why working with you would never work,” I said.

He remained quiet for a few seconds as if he was thinking about my response. “Yes, it’ll be hard to keep my hands off you.”

I admitted shyly, “Me too.”

“We’re almost there,” Nick said, looking out the window. I followed his gaze; we were heading to the airport.

“Are we flying somewhere?” I asked as we took the exit for the airport.

“Do you want to?” he teased.

“As long as you’re not the one flying,” I giggled. “Afraid I’ll distract you.”

“Very true,” he said seriously. “Fortunately, I’m not the pilot today, but someday I’ll take you on a private trip.”

I smiled at him, tongue-tied. Nick was talking about us as if we had a future together, and I liked it.

The driver drove past the departures section of the airport where I had assumed we would stop and turned at a sign that read independent planes. We flying on a private jet? Nick seemed to have read my mind because he pointed to a private jet that read Saunders Empires on the side.

“That’s our ride,” he said. “Was the best I could do on short notice.”

“Are you serious?” I asked, my eyes widening. “This is more than enough.”

“Nothing will ever be more than enough when it comes to you, Sara. I need you to remember that.” I nodded and leaned in to kiss him, but he was distracted as a car nearly ran into the limo.

“What in the world,” he mumbled, looking out his window at another limo that had driven past and parked in front of his private jet. He grunted. I looked at him but didn’t speak. Whoever was in that car was not someone he wanted to see. The driver pulled up next to the other limo just as the occupant of the car alighted.

“Fucking unbelievable!” Nick swore as he saw a woman approaching his limo.

The woman, dressed in a body-hugging dress and walking towards us, was Olivia Newton, the girl he had kissed me in front of at the ball, the woman he seemed determined to avoid in every way possible.

“She is not supposed to be here,” Nick swore. “She just won’t quit.”

I remained silent, conflicting thoughts running through my mind. Why was Olivia here? How did she know we were travelling today? Were she and Nick still dating and I was just a sidepiece? As I thought more and more about Olivia, a part of me grew angry, then jealous.

“Excuse me, Sara. I’ll be right back,” Nick said in a firm but controlled voice. He was mad but was doing his best to control himself.

Before I could respond, he opened the door and took long strides towards the woman. This was going to be very interesting.

 

 

 

NICK

Nick walked towards Olivia, anger boiling. Of all the times and places she had to show up, it was at this moment. Olivia had upset Sara before, and he didn’t want that happening again, especially since they were no longer a couple. He regretted the day he had taken Olivia on a trip in his private jet.

“Hello, Olivia,” he said as approached her. “How can I help you?”

“Nick! I was hoping to see you here. Your secretary said you were going out of town. Need some company?”

She tried to kiss him on the mouth, but he moved his head so the kiss landed on the cheek. He truly hoped Sara hadn’t seen that. “Did my secretary not tell you I had company already?”

“Who? That girl? You’re still hanging out with her? You are certainly lowering your standards. Anyways, she told me you’re flying to your villa in Italy. I want to go with you.”

“Olivia, I’ve got all the company I need in that car over there. And I care about her, so please, you need to leave.”

Olivia looked at Nick for a moment as if he wasn’t serious. Then she attempted to call his bluff and reached out to kiss him again. She got him on the lips.

“Stop, Olivia,” he said, pushing her away. He glanced at the car, hoping Sara hadn’t seen that kiss either. However, she had seen it, because she’d opened the door of the limo, climbed out, and started walking away from the limo.

“Sara? Hold on!” Nick called as he left Olivia and ran after Sara.

 

 

 

SARA

I understood Olivia was imposing herself on Nick, but he had not refused the kiss she gave him. From my vantage point in the limo, it seemed like he had enjoyed the kiss, which of course made a mockery of our young relationship, or the relationship I was beginning to think we had. I needed to get out of there fast, even if I had to walk. Once I got to the main airport, I could call a cab. Enough of the charade. If Nick wanted Olivia, he could have her. I would leave him alone. Yes, my heart would break, but better now than much later.

“Sara!” Nick yelled my name, but I wasn’t going to stop. “Please stop.”

I heard him running to catch me, and I wanted to sprint just to get away from him. I was so focused on getting away from him, I stubbed my toe on a rock.

“Fuck!” I swore as I doubled over to hold my big toe, which had hit the rock and was throbbing like crazy. “Shit. Shouldn’t have worn sandals.”

“Sara,” Nick said as he reached me. “Hang on.”

Of course, I was going to hang on; there was nowhere else to go with a sore toe. He was by my side in a few seconds, and before I knew what was happening, he had swept me off the ground as if I was made of paper.

“What are you doing? Put me down,” I said, annoyed because he was treating me like a baby and upset at him for the kiss he had just shared with Olivia. “I just hurt my toe. I didn’t break my leg.”

“I know,” he said, “but I don’t want to risk you running off on a sore toe. I need to make sure it doesn’t get infected.”

“Why should it matter to you what happens to my toe?” I frowned. “Can you please put me down?”

“What do you think, Sara? That I would put you down and let you hurt yourself more? No, not happening. Why do you think I care what happens to you?”

I knew the answer to his question: he liked me a lot, but that didn’t discount the fact that his ex had hunted him down to his private jet. If she knew all that information about him, wasn’t she a potential threat to me? I decided to remain silent.

“I’m sorry you had to see Olivia being Olivia. She is my ex. She cheated on me, and it’s been over for years. She just likes to cause trouble occasionally. I will put her back in her place once and for all, I promise,” he said, his eyes pleading with me.

I believed him, but I didn’t want to make this easy for him. If he truly wanted us to have a chance at a relationship, then Olivia had to truly be an ex.

“Can you forgive what you saw?” I looked at him, his eyes tender. I could never hold anything against him. “Please?” he begged. “It will never happen again.”

I knew Nick hardly begged, but in the space of the few days I had known him, he’d had to say please more times than he had all his life. I nodded. Yes, I could probably forgive him for everything.

Olivia walked up to us, and she didn’t look too happy. In the moment Nick and I shared, I had forgotten she was there.

“Will you look at that? Nick, forever a gentleman,” Olivia said, her voice filled with disdain.

“Hello,” I muttered to her. I didn’t really want to speak to her, but it would be just plain rude to walk by her, no, rather, be carried by her billionaire ex-boyfriend past her, and not say a word. Nick ignored her comment and continued to his private jet. David had noticed the dilemma and rushed from the car.

“May I help you, sir?” he asked, referring to helping him carry me.

“No, I can manage,” Nick said, frowning. Of course, he could manage. Mr. Rich had so many muscles I probably weighed nothing to him.

“Yes, sir,” David said as he moved to the side. “Should I get the luggage?”

“Yes. Thank you,” Nick answered. He had reached his jet, which was open and waiting for him. His pilot, a tall, lanky man, greeted him and asked him if he could help. Nick again rejected his offer but when he attempted to carry me up the stairs of the plane, it quickly dawned on him that it was dangerous, so he set me down.

“Can you walk?” he asked gently.

“I didn’t break anything. Of course I can walk.”

Nick still held my hand, supporting my weight. “Take it slow. One step at a time.”

I wanted to giggle at the ridiculousness of his behavior; he was treating me like a child. As I put weight on my foot, I realized he was right. “Ouch,” I gasped as I felt as sharp pain rip through my toe.

“Take it easy,” he said gently.

I nodded and took another step, more gently. It didn’t hurt as much. I took a couple more steps and soon I was in the plane.

“Nice.” The words escaped my mouth involuntarily, my hurting toe forgotten. Nice was actually an understatement for the sight before me – posh, cream leather reclining chairs, dark brown, soft carpet, cherry wood trimmings, marble, crystal, chandeliers, flat screen TVs – the jet looked like a five-star hotel lounge.

“Thanks,” Nick said. “Now let’s look at your toe. Sit here.” He led me to a couch and sat next to me. “Are you comfortable?” I nodded. “Good. Lay back and let me see your toe,” he said as he helped me lie back. He took off the sandal and placed my foot on his knee. “Doesn’t look too bad.”

“You’re kidding me, Nick.” Olivia had followed us into the plane. “Shouldn’t one of your chauffeurs take her home or to the hospital or wherever. What the fuck are you doing?”

“Taking care of my woman,” Nick told her, the look on his face serious. “Do you have a problem with that?”

Olivia didn’t immediately respond, but the look on her face said it all. She was so mad at Nick and at me, she would have punched us if she could have. I looked at Nick, the phrase ‘my woman’ swimming in my head. I was his woman!

“Well, good luck to you. And here’s a keepsake for you, you asshole!” she yelled as she yanked a necklace off her neck, threw it at Nick, and walked off the plane.

The necklace fell to the floor with a thud. It looked very much like the necklace Nick had given me. I had been right; he gave everyone the same exact necklace. Mine was not an exception. It was no more special than the one Olivia had tossed on the floor. I looked at him and then at the necklace. I should have done the same thing with the necklace he had given me days ago. I felt stupid sitting in his plane, my legs on his knee, a duplicate necklace he had given me flung to the floor by his bitchy ex. This was not good at all.

“I have to go,” I said abruptly. I tried to stand but fell back on the chair as pain tore through my toe.

“No, wait, Sara. I can explain.”

“No, Nick. I don’t think I’m ready for this. With the kiss from the ex and the necklace you gave me and insisted on me wearing a copy of your ex’s? What sort of game are you playing?”

“What? You’re jumping to conclusions, Sara.”

“I may be, but at least I’m not deceiving you,” I said as I scrambled to get up from the chair and finally succeeded.

“You need to hang on for one sec.”

“Nick. I’m not ready for all this. This is nice, the private jet, the dinner, and every other thing money can offer, but I don’t want to lose myself or my morals.”

“What are you talking about?” Nick asked hotly.

I was overstepping my boundaries. Nick Saunders was a powerful man, and I had to tread carefully. Besides, I was in the middle of nowhere, on his property, and he was in charge. I needed to keep that in mind. I stood next to him but without heels on, I reached his shoulders, if at all. I felt like a child in front of a bear.

“You really want to know? Do me a last favor, Nick, and pick up that necklace?” I dared. I bet he wouldn’t touch it, would call one of his servants who was probably within earshot to come and pick it up. But I needed to prove a point.

Without hesitation, he picked up the necklace Olivia had dropped on the floor and lay it on the table next to us. I hobbled over to my backpack and retrieved the goddamned jewelry box I had been carrying around for weeks. I pulled out the necklace and put it next to Olivia’s. They were identical.

“How do you explain this?” I asked. “You told me mine was unique, and yeah, maybe I shouldn’t have believed you, but I liked you enough to want more from you, from us.” I fought to stop the tears welling in my eyes. I hated crying, especially in front of a man. Certainly not in front of Nick. I couldn’t let him see how much I had grown to like him in the space of just a few days, and how much he could hurt me. After my ex, I had sworn that no other man would hurt me the way he had. But I was in the same place, being lied to and getting hurt again. Would I ever learn?

“Sit,” Nick commanded.

I sat without questioning, my tears and hurt quickly forgotten. I looked at him but couldn’t hold the intensity of his gaze. He was very upset. He pulled a magnifying glass out of a nearby drawer and gave it to me. I took it. I couldn’t afford to make him any more upset if I wanted to get out of there. He flipped both necklaces and pointed to an inscription on Olivia’s necklace. “Read.”

I placed the magnifier where his finger was resting and read the inscription. “Diamond Jewelries Gifts 2015.”

“Glad you can read,” he snapped, then pointed to an inscription on the one he had given me. “Read.”

I moved the magnifier to the inscription and read out aloud. “To Caroline, the woman of my dreams. 1935.”

For all the weeks I had possessed that necklace, I had not noticed that inscription. In my own defense, I would never have noticed the inscription without a magnifier, and he knew that. I looked at him, then at the necklaces again. They looked the same except the inscription. I realized after some thought that the one he had given me was a family heirloom, but that didn’t explain Olivia’s necklace.

“Is that all you can see?” he asked as he pointed to my necklace.

I placed the magnifier over the inscription again. “Susan. Cathy. Who are these women?” I asked, not sure what to think. More of his girlfriends?

“Caroline was my great-grandmother, Susan my grandmother, Cathy, my mom.”

“So?” I asked, still confused.

“So the men in our family traditionally pass on this family heirloom to the women they marry,” he said.

“So I’ve been holding on to your family treasure for weeks? What if I’d lost it?” My heart sank because my anger was unjustified.

“I knew you wouldn’t. I took a risk that it would eventually end up on your neck, but I might have acted too hastily. If you had lost it, it would have been my fault. When I first saw you, I knew we would end up together,” he said, his tone softening, his eyes watching me intensely.

I felt like the ground was slipping away from me. He wanted to marry me? Without even getting to know me? I looked at the necklaces again.

“So what’s with Olivia’s?” I asked, pointing at the necklace that was a perfect copy of his mother’s.

“Apparently, she knew our family tradition, and when she got it into her head that we would get married, she had a duplicate made. I guess it was her way of making people believe we were together. I couldn’t get her to take it off, and frankly I didn’t care what she did until today when she overstepped her boundaries.”

“So were you two ever engaged?” I asked.

“No. We dated briefly. She cheated on me, and we both moved on. I would never marry someone like her.”

His deep brown eyes told me he was telling the truth. I picked up the necklace. This did not make sense. A few minutes ago, we were just taking a trip together, nothing serious, but now he was proposing to me? Or not. I was totally confused.

“Is this really worth a million?” I asked.

He shook his head. “A little more.”

“How much more?” I asked.

“Try adding a couple of zeros at the end of the million,” he grinned.

I nodded as I handed him the necklace. We were standing so close to each other. I closed my eyes in anticipation of his lips, but to my disappointment, he simply touched my lips, causing me to open my eyes.

“Come with me,” he said as he led me to the couch. I wanted to kick myself for being so gullible. “Your toe,” he said. “How does it feel?”

I had forgotten my toe hurt, and the adrenaline rush from the past few minutes had certainly numbed the pain. “I’m fine.”

“Good, because I have to show you around the plane,” he said, getting up and holding my hands. “Come with me?”

I had also forgotten we were in a plane, scheduled to depart soon. As we passed the stairs, his pilot asked if he could get ready for departure.

“Yes, please,” he said without stopping. I hobbled up the stairs, one at a time until we were upstairs in a bedroom.

“Wow,” I said. The bedroom looked like a hotel room, a nice hotel room in a five-star hotel. “I didn’t know planes had bedrooms.”

“Well, where else am I going to show you how much I care about you?”

I swallowed hard at his implication, and butterflies circled my stomach. I needed a distraction. “What about Olivia?”

“She’s history. She knows never to come near you unless you want her to,” he said as we moved to the edge of the bed.

“Amy? Does she know where I am?” I asked.

“Yes, she knows you’re here with me, right now.” He had pulled so dangerously close to me, I could feel his heartbeat against mine. “Except we’ll let her guess what we’re doing.”

“And what are we doing?” I asked, grinning.

“Patience, my love,” he said. “Do you want to know where we’re going?”

“Yes, but I’m guessing you won’t tell me.”

“You’ll have to wait.”

“It’s not fair,” I said.

“Maybe not, but you made me wait for days for a first date. More like you made me trick you to get a date out of you,” he exclaimed.

“Did you expect me to jump into bed with you just because you came in for a cup of coffee?” I giggled.

“No, but I was hoping you’d be a lot nicer to me than you were. This is payback time,” he said as he pushed me onto the bed.

I could hear the engine of the plane roaring as the pilot prepared the plane for departure. Nick fell into bed with me, pinning me on it.

“We’re about to leave,” I said, trying to wiggle out from under him and giggling.

“Yes, I noticed,” he said as he held me down. His lips descended on mine.

I kissed him intensely, as if I was afraid he might disappear if I stopped. Soon the plane started moving and jerking us around.

“I think we need to strap in for departure,” he said as he pulled me up from the bed. We walked to a set of seats next to the bed, sat down, and buckled our seatbelts just as the pilot announced for everyone to take their seats and fasten their seatbelts.

I looked at Nick and could see a smile curving his face. This was unreal. How did we go from fighting in a coffee shop to feeling so in love in a short span of time? The thought of love made me pause and take a second look at him. I loved Nick. I had a lot to learn about him, but I loved him. I reached out to stroke his face and pulled him closer to me so I could plant another kiss on his face. He put my hands on his groin and let me touch him.

“That’s what you do to me,” he giggled as I squeezed his hard cock.

“Pity we’re strapped in these chairs. I could help you out,” I teased.

“Oh trust me, I’ll make you keep your word,” he said, kissing me again.

The plane started ascending and soon it was stable enough to remove our seatbelts.

“Now, what was that you promised me?” Nick asked as he pulled me out of my chair and we headed back to the bed.

“What do you want?” I asked innocently.

“More than anything in the whole world?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said. He made me sit on the edge of the bed and pulled out the necklace. “You really do want me to have this necklace?”

“More than anything in the world,” he said as he got on one knee.

At first, I was confused by what he was doing; then it dawned on me that he was making a commitment to me.

“Sara, I’ve loved you since I met you in the coffee shop. Would you please be my woman?” he asked, holding the necklace in anticipation of placing it around my neck.

I looked at him, joy filling me. “Depends on if the necklace goes with my complexion.”

“Let’s see,” he said as he unclasped the necklace and placed it around my neck. I touched it and smiled. “Looks perfect.”

“I think it works for me,” I teased as I touched my neck.

“Yes!” Nick said. “Is that a yes?”

“Well, you hold me captive in your private jet, present me with a family heirloom, you love me, I love you…so…”

Nick didn’t wait to hear the last of my sentence; he jumped on me and we landed flat on the bed again. “Thank you, Sara. I’ll never disappoint you,” he said, kissing me.

“I plan not to either,” I said, grinning. “Now, tell me where we’re going.”

“If you promise you’ll bear my children so we can pass that necklace on to them,” Nick said. “I’ll tell you everything you want to know about our destination.”

“Okay, I will have children with you, Nick Saunders. Lots of them,” I said, laughing. This was too good to be true. Was it all a dream?

“In that case, I’ll be truthful. I had no plans, really. I know the plane is supposed to have a flight map and all that, but we’re just circling the sky. The pilot is waiting for you to confirm our destination.”

“What do you mean?” I asked. “You have no plans? So what did you text to Amy?”

“I told her I was going to ask you to officially be my woman today.”

“You’re crazy,” I said, giggling, “but I like that.”

“I’m in love,” Nick said. “That allows me to be as crazy as I want.”

“So, you will go anywhere in the world I want to go to?”

“Yes, my love. Anywhere.”

“Fiji Islands?” I said. “I’ve always dreamed of going to Fiji.”

“Is that what you want?” Nick asked. I nodded. He picked up a telephone next to the bed and pushed a number. “Fiji. Please inform the staff at the villa that I have Sara with me,” he said into the phone and hung up.

“Your staff in Fiji know I exist?”

“Everyone that is important is aware that my future bride might be on this plane with me today and they are ready to serve you.”

“And I’m guessing you own a villa in Fiji?” I asked.

“A little more than a villa. More like a part of the island.”

“Okay, this is crazy, but I’m so happy.”

“You know what would make me happy?” he asked, pinning me down again.

“Should I take a wild guess?”

“Please do.”

“Fucking you?” I said shyly.

“I love it when you talk so vulgar,” Nick said. “Yes, fucking me would help. You did make me a promise to take care of me.”

“I did, and I always keep my word. Now, please take off your pants,” I said, smiling as I tugged at his pants, which were straining from his hard on. He didn’t need to be asked twice; we quickly tore our clothing off until we were both naked.

“You know, I should have made you mine years ago. We have a lot of years of catching up to do,” he said as he pulled me in for a long kiss.

I smiled as I kissed him back, his cock digging into my hip, my pussy wet and ready.

“Well, now you can make me yours,” I teased.

“Oh, trust me. I intend to take every part of you,” Nick giggled as he pulled me closer; instead of his lips touching mine, he went lower, leaving butterfly kisses on my neck. He had pinned me down, but I intended to reverse that as I struggled playfully under him until I was on top of him and he was lying on his back.

“That’s great, but my turn,” I said as I smiled at him and kissed him so briefly before starting a trail of kisses from his neck down toward his belly button. I could feel him shiver slightly and moan as my mouth dangerously approached his cock. I had never done this before, thus his excitement assured me I was doing it right. I cradled him in my hand, and his moans got even louder as I played with him.

“Sara. Please.” His voice was hoarse.

“Please what?” I teased.

“Please,” he moaned.

I ignored the moan, enjoying the feeling of power I had over Mr. Rich at that moment, but his moans got louder and he started massaging my head and gently pushing me down so my lips were close to his hardness. I smiled and ended his misery by taking him into my mouth. I wasn’t prepared for his wide, warm, and hard cock, but as I got more comfortable with the feel of him, I relaxed and started sucking and licking up and down his shaft. He grunted and moaned with every touch of my lips and hands, and I grew bolder with each moan, sucking him faster, licking him harder, and massaging his girth so hard and fast I knew it was only a matter of time before he came.

“Sara,” he murmured. “You’re so good.”

I lifted my head from his hardness and looked at him, but in that moment, he got up and flipped us so he was on top.

“Not fair,” I giggled as I wiggled underneath him. “My turn.”

We playfully struggled for a few moments, and I managed to get on top again. I straddled him until his hardness was in the right spot and his hands supported my waist.

“You are so beautiful,” he said as he helped me position myself on him. I slowly lowered my body until my pussy engulfed his hardness. I started slow and steady, supporting myself by holding his shoulders as I took his hardness in one inch at a time, allowing my body to adjust to his fullness, and soon I had his whole length in me. I moaned once his hard cock was inside me. He held me up as I started riding him steadily up and down. He pulled me down so that our lips touched, his kiss fierce.

I continued riding him, kissing him, and holding him tight as he guided me on his cock. I moaned even louder than he did as I began to feel an orgasm bubble in me. His grunts deepened and quickened; he was near the finish as well.

“Nick,” I whispered as the first wave of orgasm hit me.

“Yes, love,” Nick grunted as he pushed faster into me. I knew he was just a few seconds away from coming.

Then the waves started coming in succession and building in intensity. I curled up my feet as warmth burst inside of me as the final wave of orgasm hit me. “I love you.”

“I love you more than you’ll ever know,” Nick said just as he spewed his warm cum into me.

Our romance had been short and fierce and we had fallen so quickly in love, it was scary. I had always thought I would date forever before I committed to one man, but I’ve always known that it’s not the length of the dating that mattered but the quality of the relationship.

Nick and I were starting strong, and there was so much more about each other that we needed to learn. I was confident we would grow as a couple, and as the days passed, our relationship would strengthen. I touched the necklace that now lay on my neck and smiled. I imagined the next time I read the inscription, Sara would be inscribed next to the other women who had stolen the hearts of Saunders men before Nick. My life was complete.

 

 

*** THE END ***