Chapter 15
"Ask me," he murmured huskily as he trailed a finger down her stomach. She was still trying to catch her breath from the powerful orgasm that had rocked them both. "Ask me to marry you." His gray eyes met hers and held.
"Stephan-"
"I promised myself that I would not ask you again, Sasha, so you are going to have to ask me," he told her softly.
"Stephan, we can’t-" She gasped as his fingers dipped inside her slowly, inching in.
"Ask me, Sasha."
His fingers slid in and out with precise movements that had her body trembling. "I can’t – God!" she cried out as he increased the pace.
"I need to hear the question." He pressed deep inside her.
"I cannot think. Jesus, Stephan." She clamped a hand over his wrist, but that did not stop him.
"Stop being so stubborn," he whispered as he bent his head to hers. He did not touch his lips to hers, but the breath that fanned her sent her into another spasm of desire!
"Yes, damn you!"
"Yes, what?" he whispered against her mouth.
"I will marry you. Just - Oh God, Stephan. Please!" She wrapped her hand around his neck and brought his mouth down to meet hers, her cries swallowed by his mouth as the orgasm crashed through her body!
*****
"We could do it next month." He had his arm loosely around her body several minutes later. "A spring wedding while Mother-" He broke off abruptly not able to say more.
She lifted her head to look at him and saw the pain there on his handsome face. "She might live longer than the doctors say."
"She is in pain and she is right, I have to let her go." He shook his head. "She has been the most important person in my life before I met you." He lifted his head and kissed her lightly. "You put me through hell," he added tensely. "Why?"
She used her hands to frame his face. "I was an idiot and I was being practical. I am always practical and real. I looked at you and realized who you are. I am a simple working girl who is not as thin as the women you are used to being with and I told myself that if I allowed myself to give in to this totally unrealistic relationship that I would end up getting hurt. I still think that, Stephan."
He gripped her chin. "I love you," he said fiercely. "I would like you to believe that. I tried to make work a substitute so that I would not think about you, but it did not work. I was miserable all the time. Even when I went out to parties and functions, the thrill of everything was gone for me. I cannot be without you, Sasha. I love you, woman."
She let her hands lingered against his face loving the feel of the stubble of his unshaven jaw. "I love you too," she whispered huskily. "I fought it tooth and nail, but it never went away. I could not sleep at night because you were not there. It was awful and I never want to go through that again. I want you to be sure, Stephan, because if you wake up one morning and find out that you want out, you will not be getting it from me."
"I am sure." He caught her hands and held them. "I have never been more positive in my life. I want you to be my wife and my partner in every way."
"So do I," she whispered.
******
"So how is Elizabeth Coleman?" Darius asked her as soon as they sat down at the café. Stephan had dropped her off at the apartment earlier this morning for her to get ready for work with the plan for picking her up later so that they could go to the hospital. They were going to tell his mother the news together and were both were going to tell the two people they had made the mistake of being with that they could not see them again.
"She is not doing too well." Sasha played with the lid of her coffee cup and wondered how to tell him that she was going to marry the man she loved. She had not given him any indication that she was interested in him other than a friend, but she knew he had expected more. She took a deep breath and looked at him. "I have something to tell you."
He looked at her and nodded. "I bet I know what it is.’
"I cannot see you anymore."
"You and Stephan Coleman," he said as he looked at her.
"How?"
"How do I know?" He smiled humorlessly. "Everyone in the room at the hospital could see it, Sasha. When you rushed into his arms, it was like it was only the two of you in the room. The way he looked at you and the way you looked at him. I knew and I was just waiting for you to tell me."
"I am sorry," she said softly. "I have loved him almost from the time I met him."
"What happened?’
She shrugged. "I never thought someone like him could really love someone like me and when he asked me to marry him, I freaked out and said no. We parted ways after that and I have been trying to make do ever since."
He reached over and took her hand in his. "You are a very beautiful woman. I really hope you realize that. Beauty comes in different packages, Sasha."
She gripped his hand. "Thank you."
He nodded and lifting her hand he brought it to his lips. "I hope we can still be friends."
She nodded. "I would like that."
*****
"How did it go?" he asked her as soon as she got into the car.
She buckled the seatbelt around her and he took off. He had gone home and showered and changed into a thick black sweater and faded denims and looked so ruggedly handsome that it took her breath away! He had taken some days from work to spend the time with his mother.
"Surprisingly well," she murmured. "It turned out that he already guessed that we were into each other from the way we behaved around each other at the hospital."
"Angelica said the same thing." He kept his eyes on the road. "She accused me of being a bastard."
"I am sorry," she said softly.
He shrugged slightly. "I never made a promise to her, but I gave her hope when I started going out with her. I should not have gone out with her in the first place, but I was pissed at you and was hurting so I did it."
"And you blame me."
"Yes." He looked at her briefly taking in the fat braid at the side of her neck and the beautiful red sweater that showed her curves. "What exactly were you trying to prove?’
"That we do not belong together," Sasha told him. "Are we going to have a fight about this?"
"No." He bit off a sigh. "This should be the happiest moment of my life. You are going to be my wife and I cannot think of anything better than being with the woman I love, but there is the fact that my mother has a limited time to live and it is hanging over my head."
She put one hand on his thigh and felt his reflex reaction as his muscles bunched in response to her touch. "I am here," she whispered.
He looked at her for a moment and then nodded.
*****
Elizabeth was ecstatic and looked better than she did the day before. "Finally!" she exclaimed as she looked at them both. "When?"
"Stephan wants it for next month, but I think it is too soon to plan-"
"I want it as quick as possible," he said interrupting her. He pulled up a chair and took his mother’s hand. "I want you to be well enough to attend, Mother. I want to say it is not going to be a big wedding, but who am I kidding?"
"I promise that I will be strong enough, darling, even if I have to will myself to be so." She squeezed his hand gently. "Now how about going to get yourself something to drink while I talk to my future daughter-in-law?"
He looked at her and then at Sasha before getting to his feet. "I will be a few minutes." He bent to kiss the top of Sasha’s head and then left the room.
"He is not taking it well," Elizabeth said softly as she looked at Sasha. "That’s why I am so happy that you are here for him."
Sasha nodded as she stared at the woman. "He is pushing this wedding forward because he wants you to be a part of it. I don’t know what to say to him, Elizabeth."
"Just be there. You don’t need to say anything. I am here now so he needs to see that." She took the girl’s hands "I am so happy that you two came to your senses. I am happy my son has found love."
*****
Sasha opened her eyes in the middle of the night and looked around the room, confused for a moment and wondering where she was. Her eyes cleared as she remembered that she was at the manor with Stephan. She turned to look for him on the bed and only saw the imprint of where his body had been lying. She got up and reaching for a robe she went to look for him. She headed towards the den and saw him standing by the window with a drink in his hand. He had come home and had headed to his mother’s suite of rooms before they had come upstairs where he had made restless love to her before she had fallen asleep. He turned to look at her as she approached him. "What are you doing up?" he asked as he tossed back the drink in his glass.
"You were not there." She came and stood in front of him, taking the glass from his hand and putting it on the table near them. "For this to work between us, you are going to have to be open with me."
"I am okay," he said with a forced smile.
"You are not." She took both his hands in hers. "I went through what you are going through right now, Stephan, so I know exactly what you are feeling."
"You don’t." He pulled away from her and went to sit behind his desk. Sasha followed him and sat on the edge of the desk facing him.
"Please, talk to me," she pleaded.
"She was all I had for a very long time," je murmured absently. "She would never allow me to give up. She was grieving her husband and had to put it aside because she wanted to make sure I was not moping. She made sure she was involved in every aspect of my life. Whether it was sports at school, some school play that I was involved in, the friends I had – she was involved in every single aspect of my life. When I decided what I really wanted to do for a living she encouraged me and was my greatest supporter. I know that she would not live forever but I wanted some more time with her."
"I get it. I prayed for that when I learned that my mom was dying. I prayed hard and promised God how good I would be from then on if only he would spare her life. But she was tired and in pain, Stephan, and I realized that my wanting her to live like that I was only thinking of myself and not her."
"You think I am being selfish?" he growled, his gray eyes narrowing.
"Maybe." She bent and took his hands in hers. "But you are entitled."
He stared at her for a moment and blinked. "I love her," he said thickly.
"I know." She pulled at him and he got out of the chair. "Let me be there for you."
******
He made a big fuss of her when she came home the next day. He had told Sasha that he needed her there with him so she had gone back to her apartment to pick up some stuff and headed back to the manor. They had not gone out as a couple yet so the press had no idea that they were together. He had told her that she was to prepare herself because they would be going out for dinner on Sunday and as soon as they were seen it would be a field day with the press. She had her job to deal with as well and wondered if she should call Benjamin and tell him. They had not discussed her work situation, but she had no intention of not working.
"I don’t see a ring," Elizabeth said as soon as she was settled in the bed.
"That’s an oversight I have to remedy very soon," Stephan said as he bent to kiss her on the forehead.
"Stop fussing over me, you two, and go out and have dinner or something. You are engaged and you need to start showing it."
"We want to make sure you are okay, Elizabeth," Sasha told her.
"I am as okay as I am going to be," she said stoutly. "You have been here several times and I bet Stephan has not given you the tour of the place. You are going to be living here so you should get to know the place. Go!" she ordered.
So he had taken her on a tour of the grounds. It was still very cold, but the snow had ceased for the past few days. Sasha huddled down into her coat as she made the journey over the lush grounds.
"Your mother told me you bought this place when you first started making money," she commented as they walked past the tennis court and up an incline surrounded by trees.
"I was so excited at being able to afford a place like this that I was bursting with pride when I drove her here to look at it. I had just made my first couple of millions and wanted a splash." He stopped at a gazebo almost hidden by the trees. "I wanted to impress her and I guess I did for a minute. She said that she was proud of me and even if I did not have a cent to my name she would still be proud." He guided her up the steps and held her hand as they walked over to the benches there. "It had belonged to an aging movie star who had lost his fortune and had to sell it. I wanted big and that was exactly what I went for. We were never poor in the sense of the word. We were a middle class family who lived in a fairly big house but I wanted to show my status. Stephan Coleman had made it and was a millionaire."
"Who became a billionaire," Sasha said softly as she used both of her hands to hold his.
"I would give every dime and sell this place if it meant that I could save my mother. All this money and I am helpless in doing that."
"Stephan, stop!" she told him. "You have given her a very good life and provided the best care for her possible. You have done all you can. She is not bitter about her illness and you are making it into something that is going to make you bitter and affect what we have."
He turned to look at her, his eyes clearing as he looked at her. "You are right." His gloved hand cupped her face. "It should be about you, my love, and that is exactly what I am going to do."
*****
"Where are we going?" she asked him, puzzled. They had gone to dinner Saturday night instead and as he had predicted they had been hounded by photographers who wanted to know the status of their relationship and why he was not with Angelica Monk again. He had made the statement that Sasha Fullerton was the love of his life and had finally agreed to marry him. She had had to call Benjamin who had no idea what to say to her. "Are you still working here?" he had asked her.
"Unless you have fired me," she had said to him.
"I cannot very well fire the woman whose fiancé gives us the biggest account."
"You will see," he said mysteriously.
They had had to do a roundabout journey in order to shake the reporters and now they were at a helipad waiting to board the helicopter waiting for them. "This it is yours?"
"It belongs to the company." He held her hand as they ran to board the helicopter with its blade already whirling. "I fly as well, but I prefer to leave the controls to Hector."
He walked up the cockpit and clapped the man on the shoulder. "You can take off when you are ready."
"Good, sir," the man said with a nod.
"Okay, buckle up. We have about a two-hour ride," he told her with a grin.
"And you are still not telling me anything?" she asked as she pulled at the straps.
"Nope." He bent and kissed her lips. "It’s a surprise."
*****
"Relax. It is not like we are entertaining royalty," Garrett King told his wife mildly.
"He is kind of royalty," Afiya told him as she looked into the mirror to make sure her makeup was properly put on. "How comes I never met him before and he belongs to your club?"
"Stephan Coleman is a very busy man and we do not exactly run in the same circles. He is into fashion and I am not. I barely have the patience to sit through a damned society dinner, darling, and you know that."
"I know and I love you for that." She went over and put her hands around his neck. Their relationship had been very rocky at the start because he had convinced himself that she was not his type being bigger than the women he normally dated. But he had touched her and had discovered a fire between them that could not be quenched even after having been married for two years. Even now wither arms around him, he was starting to feel the desire stirring. He bent his head and kissed her roughly before putting her firmly from him. It was Sunday afternoon and her mother had taken their son for the day so that they could entertain the couple.
"If we continue, I am going to take you right here and don’t give a damn that our guests is right now on their way," he said gruffly.
"And we cannot have that," she said softly as she looked at her tall, athletically built husband. His green eyes were smoldering with passion and she felt the heat stirring inside her.
"Jesus, woman!" he bit out. "I am going into the kitchen to get a beer and please don’t follow me."
She watched him leave with a smile on her face.
******
"I have read about this place." Sasha poked her head out the open window even though it was freezing out and gazed at the passing scenery of the quaint town. It was a quiet that she was not used to but it was very picturesque. Kind of like a Norman Rockwell painting. "Is this place for real?"
"It is." He pulled her back and pressed the button to ease the window up. "We are here," he said as the car stopped at an impressive looking ranch type house with a curved cobbled driveway.
He came out and opened the door for her to get out as he thanked the driver. He took her hand and they went in. The door opened before they could knock and Sasha stared at the couple, understanding dawning! The man was gorgeous with white blonde hair and the greenest eyes she had ever seen! The woman was short and even bigger than she was. She had a big smile on her face and they were holding hands.
"Come on in," she urged.
"My wife has been giving me hell ever since she knew you were coming, Stephan," Garrett said dryly as he greeted him.
"Afiya, nice to finally meet you. This is my fiancée, Sasha. Sasha, meet Garrett and Afiya King."