A CONTRACT ENGAGEMENT

He gritted his teeth, pumping into her, fingers twined now, eyes locked on each other. “Remember this,” he charged, driving into her hard, fast, pushing her into the stars that surely glittered just for her. “I want you to remember tonight”

“Always,” she said, her voice no more than a breath.

Then she was lost, her body trembling as her climax overcame her. He sank into her once more and let himself go, lost in the flickering carnival lights of passion with her.

She kissed him again then scooted off to the bathroom. When she returned, he was propped on one hand, watching her intently.

His naked body was a gorgeous sight. Even in a relaxed state, his proportions were generous to say the least.

“If you keep looking at me like that, it’s not going to stay down,” he growled.

“Are you sure you want to go again?” she asked in mock horror.

He reached over, grabbed her arm and yanked her back down beside him. “Give me a few minutes and we will see” he said..

She snorted with laughter and he tweaked her nose then followed up with a kiss. She cuddled deeper into his embrace. This minute she’d love to bare her soul to him, learn all his secrets, tell him all hers. Tell him how much she loved…..

She froze. For a moment she simply couldn’t breathe. It wasn’t as if she’d just fallen in love with the man. No, it had probably been coming for a while now. But she hadn’t admitted it to herself. Hadn’t even thought it much less said it aloud. Actually she hadn’t wanted to think about it.

Yeah, it was there in the background just waiting for the time when she let it slip in. She’d been so good-or so she thought-about keeping her emotional distance.

She loved this man. Her heart seized. It was a painful admission. Wasn’t figuring out you were in love supposed to be accompanied by fireworks, a fanfare, a giddy thrill?

Wasn’t it supposed to be the most wonderful thing in the world? Why then did she have the sudden urge to run to the bathroom and throw up?

“Wanna get something to eat? We have options,” Julian said.

She blinked and focused her attention back on the here and now and the fact she was in bed after hot, sweaty sex with the man she….. loved. It was all she could do not to groan.

“What options?” she asked huskily.

“I can feed you. I can make mad, passionate love to you again. Or we can take a short nap and then do either option one or two. Or both. See? I’m easy.” he said grinning at her.

She smiled and squeezed him. She did love him. It scared her to death just how much she loved him, and now that she’d admitted it, she was flooded by so much emotion. It was all she could do not to blurt it out like some teenage girl with her first crush. Did this sudden admission of her love for him change anything between them?

“Am I staying over?” she asked. She hadn’t wanted to assume, but she needed to know before she started choosing options.

He leaned up and cradled her so he looked down at her. “Of course. That is, if you want to. If you didn’t bring clothes to go to work in, I can have my driver take you home.”

She swallowed. “I did bring clothes. But if he takes me to work, I’m without a car. It would probably be best if he did take me home early enough for me to get my car.

I can dress here.” She said,

He looked for a moment like he’d say something but then evidently he thought better of it and didn’t push. She wondered what he’d wanted to say, but like him, she didn’t push.

“All right. I’ll make sure we get an early enough wake-up call for you to shower and get ready here before he takes you home to get your car.” he said.

Unable to resist, she kissed him. It wasn’t a playful little peck this time, but a warm, deep kiss that showed without words the depth of her feelings. When she finally drew away, his eyes were glazed with passion, but there was also contentment that she didn’t want to speculate about.

“In that case, I vote we go with eat, mad passionate love and then sleep,” she murmured.

“Sold,” he agreed.

A half hour later, they sat cross-legged on the bed, devouring the room service Julian had ordered. She was swallowed up by one of his robes, and he was wearing a pair of boxer shorts.

She ate indelicately, with her fingers, foregoing the utensils. It was finger food anyway, and it was too scrumptious to be all highbrow about eating it.

They were nearly done when it hit her that she still hadn’t broached the subject of the baseball game. Where before she’d felt a little awkward about bringing it up during what was obviously an illicit rendezvous, here with Julian, she was completely at ease.

“Tell me your plans for the rest of the week. Are you gonna be traveling.. Or are you going to be around until our presentation on Friday?” she asked.

He cocked his head and studied her intently. “I don’t know. I might be traveling. But that depends, I suppose.” he replied.

“On what?”Original from NôvelDrama.Org.

“On whether I have a reason to stay around.” he said simply..

Her cheeks warmed. His meaning couldn’t have been more clear. Her mouth suddenly went dry and she gulped a mouthful of water.

“I meant to invite you to the Tide season opener. I have tickets. Good tickets. Are you interested?” she asked.

He looked a little surprised, and for a moment she wondered if she’d overstepped her boundaries. But then he smiled. A genuine, warm smile that told her he was pleased with her invitation.

“I’d love to go. It’s Thursday night, isn’t it?”

She nodded.

“I could pick you up and drive us over.”

His eyes gleamed, and for a moment she could swear he looked victorious. Over what, she hadn’t a clue.

“Just tell me what time, and I’ll be waiting with bells on,” he said.

“It starts at seven, so I’ll be here around five-thirty.”

“I’m looking forward to it already,” he said.