The last seven days had felt like three, and that was surprising since whenever Corinne was looking forward to something it usually took forever to come to pass. Nevertheless, she and Xavier were on their way to Zambia, Africa, and the excitement she felt was extraordinary.

“Do you have your passport?” Xavier asked, glancing from the newspaper he’d been studying for the last fifteen minutes.

“Of course, I always have my passport. It’s attached to my hip like most people’s cell phones.”

Xavier chuckled. They were on board his Boeing 747 VIP private jet halfway to the motherland.

“Perfect,” he said.

“It would’ve been a shame had I forgotten it since it’s too late to turn back now.”

“We could always get you a Visa, so either way we’re getting into the country.”

“Do you have connections with everyone?”

Xavier thought about it for a moment. “Not quite. Depends. I’m not a fan of Ireland, but if I need to visit I could always…”

Corinne was shaking her head.

“What?” he asked.

“The fact that you could get the connection if you needed a connection just means you have connections.”

Xavier grinned. “You’ve got me there.”

Corinne’s smile barely lifted as her eyes roamed over Xavier’s attire. He was comfortable in a crew neck white shirt and khaki cargo shorts. On his feet a pair of open toe sandals, and his toes were clearly pedicured and oiled from the shine they held. Monica’s words came back to haunt her again, so she couldn’t stop herself from asking the inevitable question.

“Does it bother you that there’s a certain expectation set in the eyes of the media about you when it comes to the opposite sex?”

Xavier glanced up from his newspaper then folded it and tucked it away in a compartment attached to the chair he sat in.

“A certain expectation?”

“Yeah, you know, they’ve pinned you to be this Casanova who sees women as items that you can use then dispose of at your will.”

Xavier glanced around then back to Corinne. “Did I miss a morning report or something, should I turn on the news?”

Corinne chuckled. “No, nothing like that.” She paused then glanced away for an extended period, hesitant to continue down this conversational road. Truth was, she was slowly falling for him, and even after the brave front she put up with Camilla, Corinne worried that maybe she shouldn’t be.

“What are you really asking me, Bella?”

Corinne swiped her tongue across her teeth then turned her gaze back to him.

“Are you a frequent flyer of the mile-high club?”

“Am I…” Xavier’s words paused, and a smile registered across his resplendent mouth. He saw the seriousness in her face, and the smile faded. “No,” he said. “But you think I am.”

Corinne pursed her lips and swallowed. “I’ve heard a thing or two.”

“And it bothers you.”

“I— I just thought I’d ask, it’s no big deal.”

He moved from his seated position; his slow stroll predatory and indicative of how his thoughts processed as he closed in. He reached for her hand and tugged, and Corinne stood to her feet.

“Do you want what the media thinks, or do you want the truth,” he asked.

Corinne’s heart knocked against her breastbone. “I want the truth.” She gazed at him.

“Okay… the truth is, I’ve had a sexual attraction to you since the very moment I laid eyes on you.” His hands slid down her waist and wrapped around her back. “More than that, there’s been this unnatural chemistry surrounding us that’s made me want you in ways that a man should only want his wife.” His palm settled in the center of her back and he pushed her closer, sealing them in an embrace so tight one couldn’t breathe without the other’s permission. “Your aura drives me crazy, and I act without thinking often like in the restaurant last week.

“That would’ve never happened before you, Bella. There’s no media station or newspaper that has caught me in such an awkward position before. I’ll tell you why. I don’t usually trust women. I’ve found that they can be manipulative and conniving to the point where they are toxic. So, part of the media’s representation of me holds some truth. I have been seen with various women. It does depict me as a womanizer. But the honest to God truth is, none of those women can say they’ve had the pleasure of knowing me intimately. Because I never gave any of them a chance to. They were merely a means to an end. A date for an event.

“Was I attracted to any of them? Sure. But I’m a very selective man, Bella Anima, and I respect women, so they’ll never catch a scandal about me in the news. If you hadn’t noticed, I’m a workaholic. Over the years, I’ve trained myself to be this way because any woman that I bed means more to me than a mere romp in the sack for the sake of satisfying my flesh, and I would like to believe that holds true with the woman I’m with.”

They stared each other off, and Xavier could tell she wanted to believe him but saw her internal struggle.

“Ask me?” he said, knowing there was more.

“Nadine Benson.”

Hearing Nadine’s name come from Corinne’s lips didn’t surprise him like he thought it would. In his heart, Xavier knew it was only a matter of time before the topic of their previous relationship resurfaced. Especially, since Nadine had recently brought the possibility of their relationship’s revival back to the spotlight. He locked his jaw then sighed.

“What about her?” His voice was calm and deep.

“Who is she to you?”

He stared her off for a long second. “She is no one.”

Corinne saw the way his face locked and the semi-frostiness in his response. That indicated that she was… someone.

“Would you lie to me, Xavier?”

Xavier broke eye contact with her, and Corinne was desperate to find it again. She could see the truth in his eyes. She could see every emotion displayed in his eyes. When he reconnected, she refused to lose it again.

“I have no reason to lie to you, Bella. She was someone important. That was long ago. It’s been over between us for almost three years.” His hand found her chin. “I’m only seeing you.” He paused. “I only want you.”

Corinne’s heart knocked. She believed him, and a rushing breath escaped her as if she’d been holding on to it. It was true, Corinne had seen a repeat of the episode with Nadine hinting at a reconnection with Xavier, and Corinne wanted to know if Nadine had a dog in this fight. Xavier cocked his head to the side, and he asked what she’d been thinking.

“Do you believe me?”

Corinne felt so many emotions at that moment she could hardly respond fast enough.

“I need to know that you believe me, Bella Anima. It’s important for us in order to move forward.”

“Yes,” she said. “I believe you.”

A smile tugged at his lips, and he caressed her chin. Corinne couldn’t explain the jubilation that consumed her. It was like a happiness that she never knew existed. Xavier was the real deal, and she believed it now without a doubt.

“Make love to me, Xavier.”

His arm tightened around her waist at her request.

“Corinne…”

“Don’t make me beg,” she said. She wiggled out of his embrace, and her feet backpedaled slowly, one behind the other. “I want you.” Her fingers skipped up her dress, and her hands reached behind her back to unclasp the three top buttons. “I need you.” Reaching below her hem, she lifted the featherweight gown over her head and let it fall off of her arms to the floor. “You said you usually don’t trust women,” she went on, “but you trust me, right?”

Xavier completely froze, and his eyes went dark as night. His gaze outlined her frame, taking in the see-through white laced bra that teased him with the distention of her dark brown nipples. His eyes blazed down her skin to the thin-strapped panties that curved her hips and squeezed out her bodacious thighs. Corinne’s hands cruised across her breasts, and with a snap, the front clasp was undone.

When Xavier took her, he did it quickly. Before Corinne had a chance to bat an eyelid, she was in Xavier’s arms. Her legs encircled his waist, and she tugged and snatched at his shirt. They succeeded in getting it over his head, but it jammed around his thick neck and toned biceps, refusing to be discarded, exposing his chiseled abs. Corinne’s fingers skipped down the ridges in his chest and dived down to his shorts. She scrambled to get them unfastened, but when she did, Xavier hauled her up and removed them from his toned hips effortlessly.

She didn’t witness him remove the condom, but she saw him rip the gold package with his teeth. With one hand, he reached for her thong and snatched the string from her body. The material was disposed of with a quick yank, and the head of his dick skated across her heated cavern with a deliberately prolonged dig. Corinne trembled, and a moan escaped her lips.

“Yes,” he said. “I trust you.” He shifted and rolled the magnum down his extended shaft. “But the question is, do you trust me, Bella?”

Xavier’s voice was profound, and his mouth floated above Corinne’s ear with their chests compressed. His lips brushed her temples, distributing a kiss there so affectionate that it dissolved her further. He trailed to her lips and hovered there, waiting for her answer.

“Yes,” she whispered against his mouth, burning for his undertaking.

Desire built within them, and when Xavier entered Corinne, her back bowed, and her spine contracted at the force of his blunt entry.

“Oh my God!”

Corinne was consumed with each edge of his wide-reaching cock, and it spread her pussy inch by excruciating inch.

“Aaaaaah…” she sang, her head falling back, and her mouth stuck on O.

Her hands held a firm grip on his shoulders, her nails sinking into his skin. Xavier filled her fully, burying himself to the hilt. A blaze of heat spiral through Corinne’s body, and her intake of breath was so sharp she almost choked on it. She exhaled.

“Oh… my God,” and her toes curled. Corinne didn’t know what she expected, but the thoroughness of his drilling, and slapping against her ass was mind-bending.

He kissed the side of her face while his hips rocked in and out viciously. She held on to him as if letting him go would cause her to combust into a million tiny embers. The heat that covered their skin became a blanket of instant perspiration, and their breathing kicked into gear as did their bump and grind.

“Xavier…” she purred. “Baby, oh my God.”

Xavier’s strokes became forceful as his hips dipped and tunneled inside her womb. Slaps of diffusion from their connection penetrated the aircraft, and a thunderous sound, something like a growl trekked from Xavier’s lips.

“Fuuuu-ck, girl!”

His mouth discovered her neck, trailing down her shoulders as their rocking became hedonistic. He licked down her breasts and sucked in a nipple sharp and heavy, causing Corinne’s body to arch more into him. Concurrently, Xavier slammed into her bottom, holding her derriere while feasting on her breasts. Corinne screamed and held on for dear life while Xavier found pleasure in consuming her whole. They filled themselves with one another, completely immersed in their joining.

“Oh my God… baaaaby!” she screamed, clutching his shoulders as he clenched her ass while thrusting so ferociously hard that a shockwave tore through her abdomen and caused her legs to spasm. “Aaaaaah!”

Xavier stood on his feet with no barrier or furniture to bare the force of their endeavor. It was all them, grinding and bouncing against each other in a fervent ecstasy that shot them higher than any aircraft could.

They embraced tightly and kissed each other so hard it hurt. With their hearts slamming together and their libidos at an all-time high, Xavier and Corinne disintegrated into one another, enthralled in their passionate coupling. Minutes turned into hours that they joined, switched positions, and flexed as if they were in a sexual yoga class. When they came, it was together. Corinne’s legs quaked, and she tightened her thighs, tossing her head back as a whale of a scream ripped through her existence.

“I’m coming, baby, oh my God!”

Now on top of her on the floor, Xavier sucked in her tongue and pounded her pussy with such strength she was sure he was trying to find a place of residence.

“Come with me, Bella,” he said, biting down on her neck, his teeth piercing her flesh, causing her orgasm to squirt in intervals of cream.

Her body jerked repetitively, and Corinne was speechless. Her mouth hung open, but no sound came out because it had been ripped from her being. Only choked air cut from her lungs as if she was gasping for oxygen.

“Grrrrrrr fuuuuu-ck!” Xavier barked as he too shot a load of cum inside her. His lips fell to her ear, and their breathing labored as they both twitched, and their ears popped while they continued their release.

“I… I…” Corinne said, trying to construct an intelligible sentence. “Oh, fuck it,” she said, passing out in his arms.