Chapter5
Elise followed David through the resort to an area that she had somehow missed in all of her exploration the day before. A guard opened a private door for them that was all but hidden in plain sight from the rest of the space around it.
They found themselves in a grand and secluded suite, almost an apartment. It had its own private beach, complete with a boat and a canopied beach bed. Elise stared at the opulence around her and tried her best not to feel out of place. David saw her staring at everything around them, and though he was accustomed to such beauty and finery, he too was amazed at the place they found themselves in. He took her hand and they walked through it together. There were ponds and streams that came from waterfalls in their room, there were open airways that led from the bedroom out to the gardens and the beach, and there were fountains and pools of crystalline water that shimmered in the rising moonlight.
They looked at all of it, and then David and Elise knew that the time had come to consummate their marriage. He walked with her to their bedroom and they entered it solemnly, each with a bit of uncertainty. He began to take his clothes off slowly, placing them with care on the lounge at the end of the bed, and she turned away from him, embarrassed at his boldness.
“Would you… would you mind if we don’t have the lights on tonight?” she asked, feeling horribly shy. She couldn’t imagine where it was coming from. This wasn’t her first night with a man and she was not ashamed of her body, but the awkwardness of him being a stranger unsettled her, and she felt she had to ask.
David stopped undressing and looked toward her, at her back that was turned to him. He could see how uncomfortable she was and he walked up to her and laid his fingers on her shoulder lightly.
“You knew that we would be doing this,” he said quietly.
She nodded. “I did.”
“Are you still alright with it?” he asked nervously.
“I am.” She meant it. “I’m just a little… I just feel a little shy tonight. It’s the first time with you,” she whispered.
“Okay,” he said, lifting his hand from her shoulder. He walked over to the lights and turned them off, and then the only light in the room was moonlight, and it washed over them in pale brilliance.
She slipped out of her wedding dress and David watched her, not really meaning to, but unable to turn away as he saw the moonlight reflecting on her dark skin. He felt mesmerized, in a strange way, and it drew him to her. He approached her again from behind, and touched her shoulders lightly with both of his hands. She shivered at his touch and he moved his hands down her arms to her waist.
Elise felt cool somehow, though the night air was balmy, and David’s hands were warm on her skin. She felt him embrace her from behind, his hands moving from her hips to her ribs, and a strange sensation moved suddenly through her as his fingertips brushed the lower swell of her breasts. It drew her breath away and made her a little dizzy.
His lips skimmed the curve of her shoulder, and he whispered to her, “Lay down with me, please.”
She moved onto the bed, lying on her back, looking up at him in complete disbelief that she was doing anything like this. He looked down at her with much the same thought in his own mind.
He touched her knee and she hesitated a moment and then spread her legs for him, as he hovered over her a moment, he looked down into her sea green eyes and whispered, “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”
“Yes,” she whispered back.
He closed his eyes and lowered himself onto her body, touching her softly and tentatively with his fingertips, readying her for his penetration, and then he slowly pushed himself into her and they both gasped at the intensity of the feelings that rocked them to their cores. It stopped him still for a long moment, until she reached her hands up to his shoulders, and her touch warmed him so much that he felt an undiscovered need, and he pushed himself into her fully, filling her and making her cry out softly in unexpected pleasure.
He did not touch her body or kiss her, he only moved within her until the heat and strangeness between them drove them to a climax that they shared, and then they let each other go, slowly and simply, and laid themselves to rest beside one another.
In the morning, he awoke before she did and he turned on the bed to look at her as she lay there in the sheets. She was a truly beautiful woman, and he appreciated her beauty, as much as he could see of it while she slept. He felt enormously lucky that he had found such a woman for his project.
He grew hard watching her, and when she awoke, he whispered to her to keep herself turned from him and he spooned her, entering her from behind her body, moving deeply inside of her again. She reached her climax easier and faster than she had the night before, and it made him have his orgasm in the fullness of her depths.
They arose and covered themselves quickly. They showered separately and ate breakfast together, although the first few minutes were still slightly awkward. He asked her about her business, and it relaxed her to talk about coffee and chocolates and all the things she did. She told him about all of the things she wanted to do, and it impressed him that she had so many lofty dreams that were within her grasp. It impressed him that she had worked so hard, like he did, for what she wanted, and that she was willing to do so much to make her dreams come true. He developed a new found respect for her, and as the day wore on, he discovered that she was truly a likeable person.
She asked him if they could go out on a boat ride and he agreed, so they walked out together onto the dock and climbed into the boat, taking it for a sail around the lagoon that faced their room. Then they decided to have a bit of adventure, and took the boat out onto the sea for a while. An hour and a half later, a bit worn by the sea and sun, they returned to their room and he lay down to nap while she showered, then started to walk out to the pools.
She stopped and watched him for a long moment, laying there on their bed. He was a good man, and a beautiful man, and she realized that what she was doing with him was not going to be bad at all. She slipped out into the gardens and lowered herself into one of the cool pools, wearing nothing but her blissful smile. She swam in the water and let it wash over her, soothing every part of her, and just as she was relaxing against the rocks on the edge of the pool, she heard a rippling noise and opened her eyes to see him in the water, just in front of her, gazing at her.
He waited a moment and then moved toward her slowly and for a second, she wanted to cover her body, to hide it from him, but then he reached out and took her hands in his, spreading their arms apart. He did not look down at her, but rather, he kept his eyes on hers and moved close enough to her that their bodies touched and she could feel his arousal against her.
He moved his hands up her arms to her shoulders and was just about to lift her face to touch his lips to hers, when she turned her head away and said softly, “No kissing.”
“Are you alright?” he asked in concern.
She turned toward him again, slightly, and looked at him from the corner of her eyes. “It’s too personal,” she said in her soft tone.
He nodded. “Alright,” he whispered back. He moved his hands to her waist and pulled her close to him, and in moments, over him, as he entered her and she could not help but wrap her legs around him and cling to his shoulders as he thrust himself into her, over and again, drawing heat and flames from the nether regions of her body that she thought were long cold.
She could not stop herself from crying out in ecstasy as he brought her to an orgasm and then minutes later, his hands clamped on her hips, his eyes closed and his teeth clenched, he brought her to orgasm again, and as she came, he came with her, filling her with heat, and she leaned her head against his shoulder, shuddering with pleasure.
They fell away from each other and she left him in the pool, slightly less concerned that he would see her body as she withdrew from the water. That night, they were intimate in each other’s arms again, and her inhibitions had dissolved. She knew what his body would feel like inside of hers, and she knew what she could expect with him. She began to trust him, and that allowed her to be so comfortable that she began to genuinely enjoy the intimacy between them. When he moved in her, she began to move with him, and to do what she could to help him reach his orgasm, and that built a bond between them.
Their intimacy seemed to follow unspoken rules, rules that defined how and where they touched each other, and what was allowed as contractual marriage sex, and what was not explored or discovered. Aside from being inside of her, he did not touch her where her bikini swimsuit covered her, and he did not kiss her, and yet, their heat and need for each other began to grow over the days of their honeymoon.
From the lagoon to the pools, to the boat and the beach bed, from the shower to their own bed in their room, they were intimate throughout the days and nights, and with every encounter, they trusted each other more, they knew each other better, and by the close of their honeymoon, they had found a way to come together to make their child without compromising their hearts, and yet still fulfilling the needs of their bodies.
They flew back to San Francisco with their companions and listened to the stories that they told about swimming with dolphins and riding horseback through jungle lands, about meeting locals and learning to dance and cook the regional food. Elise and David were quiet most of the way back, aside from Sarah pulling Elise aside at one point and insisting that she tell her how things went.
Elise assured her that things went very well and that it had worked out. They were going to be able to conceive their child without all the drama and mess of emotion, and she was very pleased to say it.
When they returned to San Francisco, the big changes began as Elise took over her store again and moved her things from her house to David’s house. He gave Elise her own room overlooking the garden, and she arranged herself in the room until it was comfortable to her.
He asked if he might see her business, and she took him to her shop, introduced him to the girls that worked for her, and all of them swooned and looked at him with wide smiles. David was intrigued with Elise’s ideas for expanding her business. She showed him all of the things she had done in her shop and how her business had grown continuously over time since she had started it. He was dumbfounded that the bank had not helped her.
“Elise,” he told her, looking at all of her paperwork as they sat in her office, “this is a brilliant business. This is what most businesses should be doing, and you’re doing it. I can’t believe those idiots at the bank turned you down. You obviously know what you’re doing and you have a golden goose idea here.”
She laughed at him. “I have a what?”
He tilted his head and smiled at her. “A golden goose idea… it’s the goose from Jack and the Beanstalk that laid all the golden eggs. See, instead of taking all the treasure that the giant had, Jack took the goose, which is really where the biggest treasure came from. Your ideas are all golden eggs, and anyone who can’t see that has no business running a bank.”
He looked at her papers again and then looked back up at her, setting her papers down and smiling. “Do you know what I am going to do for you?”
“No, what?” she asked, smiling back at him. Their friendship had grown considerably since he had helped her move in and settle down with him. She had never felt as comfortable or as much at ease with any other man as she did with him.
“I’m going to fund this for you. I’m going to give you the money you asked the bank for. It’ll be enough to pay everything off and open another new store. In fact, I’ll help you open five new stores over the city. How would that be?” he asked, looking up at her in excitement. He could see all of the potential in her, and he was glad that he was the one who would help her achieve it. It felt like one of the most important things he had ever done.
She squealed in delight and clapped her hands together. “That would be fantastic! Thank you so much!”
He stood up and she rushed at him, throwing her arms around him and holding him tight to her. Something in him twisted as she held him, something like gravitational need and he drew in his breath and turned his face toward her neck, breathing in her scent, letting his lips touch the soft warm skin there.
She felt a spark of fire begin to blaze deep in her belly as his mouth, at first feather soft on her skin, began to close over her in a kiss, and he trailed his hungry lips from her neck over her jaw line to her cheek. She grew breathless and dizzy in his embrace, and as his lips neared hers, they both hesitated, their breath mingling, their hearts racing, looking anxiously into each other’s eyes for questions and answers. For a moment, for one long single moment, they both wanted to taste the other in a deep kiss, but she blinked and turned her face away, releasing him from their hold on one another, and stepped back.
He dropped his arms to his side, and looked away from her, taking a deep breath, and letting it out slowly. David looked at her once again, drinking in her sea green eyes and her full lips and he knew he needed to leave. He shrugged and turned toward the door.
“Well, I’ve got to get to a few other things today. I’ll look at this with you again soon and we will get busy on your new places.” He walked to the door and opened it, and then looked over his shoulder at her. “I’m glad to help you.” He smiled at her and she gave him a weak smile back, and then he disappeared.
She fanned herself and sat at her desk, lowering her head into her hands. She could not afford to fall in love with him. That was something she was going to have to avoid at all costs, and if she kept up with him the way they had been going, there would be no stopping it, and then her perfect plan would wind up hurting her more than helping her in the end. She made her mind up that she wasn’t going to love him and she promised herself that she would stick to it.
David walked outside and sat in his car for a moment, willing his solid erection to disappear. He had never wanted to kiss someone so much in his life. No other woman he had been with had made him want her like his wife did, and as fate would have it, she was the one woman he could not love. He told himself that he was in the middle of a business deal and reminded himself, for the hundredth time, why he was married to her in the first place. Then, when he calmed down, he drove away and promised himself that he would not fall in love with Elise, no matter what.
***
That night when she came home from work, they ate a casual dinner on the patio and she talked about her day of chocolates, and he talked about his day at the office, and neither one of them said anything about their almost-kiss. It was their routine that they were intimate in the morning and at night, but that night, they both retired to their own rooms and closed their doors softly, thinking they needed a little space and time to refocus their intentions and goals. In the morning, she did not come into his room as was her practice, and they went their separate ways during the day.
The thought of her plagued him at nearly every moment and he tried to keep her from his mind. He tried to listen to Carlson, he tried to focus on his every phone call and meeting, and he tried to stop the rush of blood in his body that yearned for her, telling himself that she was not ever going to be his lover. He almost had himself convinced, until he walked in to the house and saw her preparing dinner for them.
The light dress she wore was somehow barely touching her skin while clinging to the edge of her curves, like there was a soft breath beneath it that billowed the fabric out as she moved and turned in the kitchen, singing softly to herself. He smiled at her whimsy. But then as he watched her, his smile slowly faded and he realized too late that there was something missing in his chest, and there was no way he could ever get it back. He knew that his feelings for her had gone far beyond those of a friend, and there was nothing that could be done about it. He stood in the arched doorway of the kitchen and watched her, aching from the center of him outward, longing for what he could not ever have.
Elise finished the salad and hummed to herself as she checked the salmon in the broiler and then lifted her glass of wine for a long sip. She turned to set her glass down and looked up to see the figure of her husband in the doorway, watching her. She stared at his eyes for a moment, drawn into them. He was gazing at her with a haunted and hungry look that she had never seen, and it made her stop in place for a moment. She felt a hot shiver run through her body and she shook it off and ignored the dull ache in her belly.
“Hello! You must be hungry. Come in and have a look.” She smiled her best at him, telling herself that he was just tired and that there wasn’t anything at all behind his serious eyes.
He strode into the kitchen a short way and looked away from her with some difficulty. She walked up to him and hugged him, and the feel of her body against his, the sweet scent of her skin and hair, the touch of her hand on his arm, froze him to the spot. He closed his eyes and steadied himself, and then looked away from her when he had regained what little composure he thought he had.
They sat together at the table and he focused on the meal, listening to her talk about her store. He was glad to hear the light conversation, glad to have something, anything, take his mind off of her as she sat next to him and saturated him with herself. He told her to let the house staff clear away the dishes, and he hugged her lightly and went to his study to focus on work.
She would not leave his thoughts, and by the time he had readied himself for bed, there was a fire burning in him that could not be dealt with, that would not be extinguished and he told himself that he would go to her for their nightly intimacy but that it would not affect him, and that he was the master of his heart and soul. He knocked on her door and she opened it, looking up at him with concern in her misty green eyes.
He did not speak, he only stepped into her room and closed the door behind him. His heated gazed fell over her body and the loose nightshirt that barely covered her. It was her practice to wear things that allowed him the ability to penetrate her without revealing much of her body.
David stepped toward her and his gaze held her eyes. She tried to draw a breath in but it was caught in her lungs and she could only watch him as he neared her and lifted his hand to the collar around her shirt. He stared into her eyes and slid his fingers beneath the material, touching her neck and holding her head up to look at him. She could feel the embers of passion in her begin to blaze as he lifted her face to his and drew his mouth near hers, his warm breath heating her cheek.
She shook her head almost imperceptibly, he couldn’t… he couldn’t kiss her or all of the emotion that had grown in her for him would not be held back, it would rush forth and her heart would be his. Her heart would be broken. She could not let him make her fall in love with him.
David’s mouth came dangerously close to hers, but she turned her face away and he pulled her back to look at him. “Kiss me,” he whispered hoarsely.
“No,” she barely breathed back to him. “I can’t…” She tried to look away from him, to break the bond of his eyes locked on hers but she couldn’t and he drew even closer to her, she could almost feel his lips on hers, and it melted her resolve.
“Kiss me!” he repeated, urging her desperately, his fingers firm on her cheeks. She shook her head slightly.
“No, I can’t!” she whispered once more, but as she breathed it out, his lips grazed hers for a moment, and when he saw her eyes close, he knew that she was his. His mouth closed over hers in heated desperation, his lips parting hers, and his tongue tracing the contours of hers, tasting her at long last. He held her tightly in his arms, and she held him back, kissing him in return as flames erupted in them both.
She could not withhold any of her passion for him any longer, and as his mouth moved over hers, she knew that there was nothing she could do but love him with all of her heart.
David’s fingers moved from her face back down her neck to her shirt, where he effortlessly released all of the buttons that closed her shirt over her body, and he pushed it to the floor. He stepped back for a moment, his hands holding her arms, and looked in awe at her body before him.
As she watched his eyes move over every part of her, she felt heat rising to the surface of her skin, and she knew that only his touch would release her from it. He moved his hands to her breasts, touching her gently and discovering her as he never had before. He slid his fingers over her ribs and belly, finally touching the patch of hair between her thighs, making her close her eyes and try to hold back a cry of desire that escaped her.
He lifted her and laid her on her bed, moving over her, his mouth wide open and his tongue tasting all that he could of her. He pushed her thighs apart and nestled his face into the depths of them, sliding his hot tongue over the outside of her, and then into her, making her gasp and cling to him. He drove her to an orgasm and tasted her pleasure for himself.
His need had never been as great as that moment, and he lifted himself and moved between her legs, entering her and driving himself into the depths of her body, filling her completely, and bringing her untold pleasure. Her hands molded to the hard muscles of his shoulders and she kissed and sucked at his neck, and his mouth as he kissed her back, with no end of hunger for the woman beneath him.
Their passion turned and twisted them in the sheets, tangling them in each other, writhing and wrestling as they passed every boundary they had set, and discovered everything about each other until they quivered with release, their arms locked around each other, their lips bruised with desperate kisses, and their bodies fulfilled in love.
They lay together in her bed and fell asleep in each other’s arms, and in the morning, when they awoke, they made strong and passionate love again. This limitless, boundless desire and release became their new routine, at every turn, in many places, at any hour, and they could not keep from wanting each other, or getting enough of one another.
***
Two weeks from the night that their intimacy had gone so deep, Elise discovered that she was pregnant and her heart almost broke in two. She had wanted the baby, and now she had it, but at what cost, she asked herself, because now they had reached the point in their contract when they would not be intimate anymore. She would be living with him for three years and not be able to love him, as the purpose for their intimacy had been realized.
She didn’t want to tell him, and she kept it a secret for a few days but David knew his lover, his friend, and though he tried to find out what was wrong with her, she would not answer him, she only loved him harder and longer, holding him more closely at night. At last, another week had passed and she knew she could not keep her pregnancy a secret from him any longer.
Her body was changing, her breasts were growing sore, her stomach was cramping, her cycle was gone, and she had begun to be nauseated from time to time. He would notice, and then what would he say when he discovered that she hadn’t told him?
Elise rested her head on his shoulder one morning after they had made love and she kissed his cheek and his lips and then looked at him sadly.
“What’s bothering you?” he asked in a worried tone. “Whatever this thing is that has had you in its grasp for the last week, we can work through it. Talk with me, please. Tell me what it is. I’m here for you.” He leaned to her and kissed her, tasting her softly, and then letting her go and looking at her carefully. “Please, Elise, please tell me.” He touched her cheek encouragingly.
She drew a deep breath. “I’m pregnant,” she whispered.
Realization dawned on him and he laughed and pulled her tightly into his arms. “Well that’s wonderful! That’s… that’s the best news I’ve ever gotten! Are you feeling alright? Is that what’s wrong?”
Tears sprang to her eyes and she closed them, trying to hold everything in, but it was no use, they rolled down her cheeks and she gasped with sadness. He held her close to his chest and rubbed her back. “Elise, what is it? What’s the matter?” He looked at her with a worrying gaze.
She shook her head and turned it away from him, but he placed his hands on her face and made her look at him. “Talk to me, please. What is it?” he asked in a near whisper.
She wept aloud. “I’m pregnant. Your contract states that we won’t be together after this… we won’t be making love anymore.” She closed her eyes and shook her head and then looked up at him. “I don’t want to give this up. I want you, David, I need you.”
David looked at her and understood what she was saying to him. He closed his eyes and touched his forehead to hers for a long moment, connecting with her, and then raised his head and looked back down at her. “Listen to me, Elise, please.” He touched her underneath her chin and she opened her eyes to look into his.
“I don’t want to stop being with you. I know the contract says we don’t need to do this anymore now but I don’t want to give you up. I don’t want a night in this house without you by my side.” He kissed her long and hard and then raised his head and looked at her again. “I can’t get enough of you, Elise. You are all I want. You are all I want for the rest of my life. I love you. Stay with me here, be my wife, be the mother of our child, please.” He kissed her again, closing his eyes and losing himself for a long moment before lifting his head to look down into her eyes again. “I love you. Stay with me,” he whispered.
Elise felt as though her heart had been freed from the deepest and darkest prison and all she could do was smile at him through her salt tears. “I love you, too,” she whispered as he kissed her tears away.
“Will you stay with me?” he asked again.
She nodded happily and wrapped her arms around him, feeling his erection grow against her thigh, making her hunger for him again. “I’ll stay. I love you, David, and we are going to have a long and beautiful life together.” She giggled through her happy tears and her husband laid her back in their bed and made love to her again until neither of them could breathe for the all the passion they discovered.
***
It wasn’t until later that morning when Carlson came to the house with an ashen face and a tired, drawn look and pulled David into his home office for a private conversation that things began to take a turn for the worse.
David walked out of his office with Carlson several hours later and both of them looked ill. He would not speak to Elise about whatever it was that Carlson had told him, and Elise was left to wonder what had shaken them both up so much. She would find out but it wouldn’t be for several months as her baby grew within her belly, her businesses expanded and she opened new stores, and she believed her life was a perfect dream come true.
It was after all of that, that the clouds parted and she learned the truth about her marriage to David.