Chapter 5
She coached him. He had expressed his desire to attend the Christmas concert and dinner at the residential home with her and she had told him what to say to her mother. They had met several months ago.
“Six months and three weeks.” He had interjected, causing Kimone to stare at him with a slight frown.
“I am very good with dates,” he had hastened to assure her, silently cursing himself for the slip of tongue.
“Okay,” she had nodded. “My mother and Dawn are going to drill you with questions as to why you were a secret. We are not going to tell them about our arrangement.”
“Don’t worry,” he had told her with a smile. “I am going to make it look real.”
“Right,” she had looked at him curiously for a minute before they left.
Ever since that night at the office when he had told her he would be gentle with her; things had changed between them. There was a charged atmosphere when they were around each other as if they were waiting for the time when they would be in each other’s arms. Kimone had gone home that night and had a hard time falling asleep; thinking about how she had felt in his arms and what to expect when it happened. She knew it would; it was just a matter of when.
They got to the home at seven thirty because the concert was starting early. She had bought an outfit for the occasion; one she had seen inside the small boutique near her store. It was a black all in one pant suit and she had put a black and gold scarf around her neck; the effect was stunning and she was glad she had made the effort when she saw the admiring look on Peter’s face. He was dressed in black pants and a green dress shirt with a black sweater vest. She was glad he was going to be her date; he was achingly handsome.
“All the elderly women are going to fight over you tonight,” she teased him as they headed towards the building. The night was clear and cold, there was still no sign of snow even though it had been predicted that they were in for a white Christmas.
“There is only one woman for me,” he answered softly, looking down at her, his eyes like liquid pool.
Kimone stared up at him for a moment, lost in his eyes. It was the sound of her mother’s voice at the doorway that interrupted the moment and they went towards her.
She had told her mother and Dawn that she was bringing someone and they had been giving her the third degree ever since.
“Hi Mrs. Bailey, lovely to finally meet you,” Peter held out his hand as soon as they reached the doorway. Kimberly Bailey was resplendent in a rose colored silk blouse and billowing purple pants.
“And I have not heard enough about you Peter,” she sent her daughter a telling glance and Kimone knew she was in for a long conversation. “Apart from knowing that you own practically the whole state.” She beamed at him and pulled him for a hug. “My daughter has kept you a secret for the last time. Come in to our humble abode, I am sure it is something that you have not experienced before.”
Kimone was left to fend for herself as her mother took Peter around to make the introductions to the various outsiders and residents milling around and drinking punch. Dawn was already there with Gregory and she saw her best friend bearing down on her; a determined expression on her face. She had chosen to wear red and black with little green dots on the blouse. She saw that Gregory was standing by the fireplace and talking to Peter.
“You are dating a billionaire and we are just meeting him?” she asked suspiciously, coming to stand right in front of Kimone.
“Hello to you too! And how are you this fine night Kimone? Oh why thank you for asking Dawn, I am doing fine.” Kimone mocked.
“Cut the foolishness Kimone,” the girl said impatiently, visibly upset. “I am your best friend and you kept this from me, why?”
“Okay, fine,” Kimone sighed, linking her hand inside the girl’s even though she stiffened at the touch. “We met at the coffee shop some months ago and we were just friends, I never knew it would have gone anywhere,” she said truthfully. “You know how I am Dawn, I was not looking for a relationship, it just happened.”
“So it’s serious?”
“Very.”
The music had started playing and Kimone smiled as she heard one of her favorites: 'Chestnuts roasting on an open fire’. The concert would be staring in the next half an hour and they were told to find seats and get ready to be ‘thrilled’ her mother’s words. “We are thinking of getting engaged.”
Dawn stopped abruptly, forcing Kimone to stop as well.
“A few weeks ago you had no man and now you are practically engaged? What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” she protested, pulling the other girl with her towards the seats laid out for them. “We want to do this and he proposed to me and I said yes.”
“He asked you to marry him and you neither told your best friend nor your mother?” Dawn was very skeptical.
“Because I did not want to jinx it,” she improvised. “I wanted to keep it to myself for a while.”
“Thanks for sharing,” Dawn whispered as the men came over to them.
Peter sat beside her and took her hand in his even though Kimone tried pulling away, he held on. Dawn kept staring at them so Kimone decided to let it go and after a while it felt natural with her hand in his.
There were a variety of poetry and songs and several couples danced to songs of the fifties. There was a moment of hilarity as old Mrs. Bainbridge stopped half way into her poetry and started dancing a jig.
The meal was well done and the Christmas tree sparkled with the different lights and various decorations. “Dawn wants to know why you have been hiding me,” Peter murmured as they sat on one of the faded sofas. The concert and dinner had finished and as much as she wanted to leave, Kimone knew her mother and Dawn would never forgive her.
“What did you tell her?” Kimone sipped the nutmeg, savoring the taste of the creamy liquid. Her mother had made the concoction herself and she remembered years when she was a child and had watched her mother in the kitchen preparing it.
“I told her to blame me; I wanted you all to myself before everything was announced.” Peter answered in amusement.
“You didn’t have to do that Peter,” Kimone looked at him, noticing the lock of hair falling on his forehead. He looked good; so damn good!
“I had to,” he objected. “She is your best friend and it’s better she is mad at me than at you and I am too charming a person for her to stay mad at me.”
“What are we doing Peter?” she asked him, refusing to smile at his attempt at humor. “We barely know each other and we are planning to take this big step together. What if we discover we don’t really want to be together? What if you hate the way I step out of my shoes and leave them in the middle of the room? Or the way I leave my coffee cup beside the sink instead of in the sink?”
“What if we ended up falling in love with each other?” he countered. His heart had started the pounding inside his chest as he heard her words. He could not bear the thought of her backing out, it would destroy him.
She stared at him, lost for words.
“What if that happened?” he continued, wanting to touch her but not daring to. He could see that her friend was watching them from across the room, probably wondering what they were talking about. “What if we discover that this is the best thing that ever happened to us? I take risks Kimone, that’s why I am such a successful business man and I am asking you to take the risk with me.”
“I am not backing out Peter, if that’s what you’re thinking,” she told him with a sigh, staring off into the fire, her expression pensive. “I was just thinking out loud.”
“Come home with me tonight,” he said urgently. “I need you with me, I have been thinking of making love to you for a long time and I think tonight is the night.”
She stared at him, at the intense expression on his golden brown face, the lock of hair on his forehead, his eyes that seemed to look into her very soul. This was Peter, the same guy from the coffee shop that she had thought of objectively as being very handsome but had not given him a second thought because she had not been looking for a relationship. The same guy she wanted her first time to be with.
They said their goodbyes with her mother inviting them over for Christmas dinner the next day and Dawn and Gregory as well. Dawn had been somewhat mollified at what Peter had told her and had even said she thought it was so romantic, telling Peter that he must not keep her best friend away from her. So now they were friends again.
*****
They got to his place at eleven o’clock. Even though the party had finished for some time; they had stayed and talked with some of the residents who had been too excited to go to bed. Since the next day was Christmas the head nurse allowed them to stay up a little longer than usual. Kimberley had talked to Peter about donating some things to the home and he had told her he would.
“I like your mother,” Peter told her as he held the door for her to go in ahead of him. They had been silent on the way to his apartment, both busy with their own thoughts.
“I think the feeling is mutual,” she told him with a smile. For some reason she felt nervous and she had to keep telling herself that this was Peter; he was no stranger but still her heart continued to trip inside her chest.
He hung up their coats on the coat hanger and went to kindle the fire. Very soon there was a blaze going on and he spread a blanket in front of the massive fireplace.
“No marshmallows?” Kimone asked in amusement as she sat on the soft blanket. She was trying desperately to go back to the way things were before; this way was too confusing and she could not think straight.
“I have somewhere, do you want some?” he asked her, getting ready to rise and go for it. He had taken off his sweater vest and his dress shirt and was in a white undershirt.
“I am just kidding Peter,” she laughed putting a hand on his arm to stop him from leaving.
“What do you want?” he asked her, his voice soft and hypnotic, his eyes holding hers captive.
“I want world peace and the end of child abuse,” she tried to joke but it came out as a whisper.
“Ask me what I want.”
She could not answer, her throat clogged up as she tried to breathe.
“Ask me,” he insisted.
“What do you want?” she finally spoke.
“I want you,” he told her huskily. “I want to make love to you for the entire night and I want you to fall asleep in my arms and when you wake up I want to start all over again.”
Her hand was still on his arm and she could not move it; she was held immobile as she stared into his eyes.
”Tell me you want that too,” he murmured, pulling her towards him.
She nodded, still lost for words. With a sigh he lifted her chin and looked at her for a second, his eyes moving her exquisite face. The glow of the fire was very flattering, softening her features further and giving her an ethereal light that seemed to reflect from within.
He kissed her; his mouth meeting hers with a slowness that was deliberate. His tongue invaded her mouth giving her a jolt that went straight through her. Her arms came up and wrapped themselves around his neck and he gently lowered her to the blanket, never releasing her lips as he deepened the kiss. Peter felt his erection growing and he knew the control was slipping away from him.
With a groan he broke the kiss, pushing aside the flimsy straps that held her outfit together. She was not wearing a bra and her breasts were revealed as he pushed away the material, his hand going over her shoulders and drifting further down to touch her small breast gently, feathering over the already pebble like nipple. He bent his head and took the nipple inside his mouth causing Kimone to gasp at the shock of his mouth on her. She buried her fingers into his thick dark hair as his tongue flicked over the tight bud. The sensation was unbelievable.
“Peter,” she moaned softly, digging her fingers in his scalp. He released her nipple and undressed her slowly, gazing at her curvaceous body. She was perfect. He thought as his hands wandered down her body, removing her clothes, leaving her only in soft pink lace panties that barely covered her mound.
“So beautiful,” he said thickly. He was almost bursting at the crotch and he pulled down her underwear. He wanted to taste her so bad that he could taste her inside his mouth. He kneeled down and pulled his shirt over his head. He was well muscled with a smattering of dark hair on his chest. He unbuckled his pants and pulled them off, leaving his underwear on before climbing on top of her.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he whispered against her mouth.
“I don’t care,” she whispered back, moving restlessly underneath him; her hands coming up to cup his face. “I want to feel you.”
With a groan he took her lips with his. He wanted to taste every inch of her body, to taste and to savor but he wondered if he could hold out. He loved the feel of her mouth, the taste of it, he was drunk on her and he did not want to stop but she was not allowing him. Kimone felt her nipples grazing his chest and she felt her nipples hardened to painful proportions; she needed more and her body was telling her so. She dragged her mouth from his and gasped: “Peter now please,”
He complied, reaching between them to take his erection from his underwear, already hardened considerably. She had shimmied out of her panties and he entered her gently, his body tensing as he met the resistance, his eyes on hers as if afraid that the penetration would hurt her.
“Please,” she whispered, already closing around him. He pushed inside her, swallowing her small cry of pain as he breached her, staying still while she became accustomed to the length and breadth of him, only moving when she started to move beneath him. She closed her arms around his neck and lifted her hips to bring him closer, drawing him into her, meeting his thrusts with hers, their bodies moving in sync as they began the age old dance of love; their bodies molding and blending with each other.
Kimone felt the pain disappear and the intense pleasure rose inside her body as she moved against him. She had never felt anything like it before, this feeling of utter helplessness and vulnerability; the intense need that went further and further until she felt as if she was climbing a mountain and reaching for the clouds. Then she was falling and she was taking him with her. With a cry she let go and fell, clinging to him. Vaguely through the cloud wrapping her in its airiness she heard him calling out her name and gripped her hips as he plunged inside her over and over again, spilling his seed; his body shaking spasmodically on top of hers.
They came floating slowly back to earth, clinging to each other, his mouth capturing hers hungrily as he sought to regain control; a control that had slipped away from him the moment he had entered her. He held her against him and wished that he could tell her he was in love with her, had been since the first time he saw her but he had to be contented with showing her with his body. It was her first time and he felt the joy course through him that he had the privilege of being her first, the joy of enveloping her body with his and he wanted to protect her from everything and anything. He wanted to give her the world.
“You okay?” he whispered finally.
“It depends on what you mean by okay,” Kimone whispered back. He was still inside her and it felt wonderful, so much so that she did not want him to come out.
“Are you sore?” he asked her in concern, moving as if to come out.
“Don’t you dare do that!” Kimone protested, clasping him with her legs.
“Kimone,” he groaned, moving inside her.
“Can we do it again so soon?” she asked wonderingly.
He laughed shakily at her innocent question. “With you yes.” He murmured. The fire had died down somewhat surrounding them with its warm glow. Kimone felt contented and euphoric and she wanted to feel him moving inside her again.
As if reading her thoughts he bent his head and captured her lips with his. Kimone opened her mouth underneath his and touched her tongue to his, setting off an explosion of feelings inside his body.
“I want you again,” he gasped, dragging his mouth away from hers. He pulled out and away from her and reached for her breast, his tongue going over her nipple causing her to arch her body closer to him. His mouth drifted further down and Kimone gripped him tightly, halting his progress.
“It’s okay,” he told her throatily, “I just want to taste you.” He continued down until he reached her pubic area. Kimone gasped loudly as his mouth touched her, his tongue reaching out to touch her mound before venturing inside her. She cried out as he worked his tongue inside her; her hips bucking, almost dislodging him. She had thought she had reached the peak of her pleasure but oh how wrong she had been. He held her hips firmly, bringing her up slightly as his teeth grazed her. She felt the pressure building up inside her and she dug her feet in the bed. She came inside his mouth, her cry anguished as she moved her head from side to side, trying to come to grips with what was happening inside her body, what he was doing to her. She drifted down slowly from the incredible high he had lifted her to but still he continued to torture her, his tongue lingering inside her.
He finally came up and over her, placing his penis inside her, his face intense as he stared down at her silently. Kimone reached up and closed her arms around his neck pulling her down on her as she closed around him tightly. “That was unbelievable,” she whispered against his mouth.
“I'm glad you liked it,” he whispered shakily as he started moving inside her slowly at first then picking up the tempo as she started moving with him.
“I want us to do this all the time,” she told him impishly, groaning as he moved deep inside her.
“Your wish is my command,” he told her huskily, reaching down to hold her hips firm as he thrust inside her. They came together and Kimone clung to him, her nails biting into his shoulders and his mouth covering hers to capture her cries.
He held her close to him as she slept; his expression tender. He loved her so much that he trembled from it; he knew it was going to be special when he made love to her but he never dreamt it would blow his mind so much. He had never been a womanizer in the past, maybe because he had seen what his parents’ had and he wanted to experience something like that himself. He had thought he had found the woman of his dreams two years ago when he had met an Asian girl at dinner one night but she had only been interested in him for what he could give her. He had told her that he was not interested and had taken his leave. Now he had met her and he knew he would do everything in his power to keep her.