2. 24 Hrs.

They head out to the justice of the peace, and DeMarco hailed the first cab and flagged it down. DeMarco gives the cabbie the address as he pulls her flush against him. Ava snakes her legs over his as their lips finally land in an explosive kiss for the first time. The fact that they were in the back of a cab leaves DeMarco a little unsettled, but when he feels her tongue slide hesitantly against his, all thought evaporates from his brain. 

DeMarco gripped her thin hips and lifted her on his lap, never breaking the connection of their mouths. When she wiggles against his rock-hard erection, he almost loses it. The friction is enough to drive a sane man out of his freaking mind with delirium. 

“Your destination.” 

It takes a few seconds to process his words, but when DeMarco does, he pulls out a handful of bills from his wallet and practically throws them through the window. Once they reached the hotel suite. DeMarco looked into her eyes until she gazed up at him. 

“What are you looking at?” She asked. 

The entire package was very appealing. He stared at her ripe lips, loving how they looked as good as they tasted. Her lips parted as she looked up at him, probably trying to gauge his intentions. Or what were his intentions, exactly?” 

“If you don’t want this, say no.” 

“I, um…” 

His hands curled around her hips, drawing a gasp from her as he tugged her against him. 

“That’s not no. Last chance…” 

Ava didn’t say no. She didn’t say anything as she continued to look up at him with big, startled eyes that had him thinking about melted chocolate. And then her hands landed on his bare chest, and he realized she was bringing him closer, not pushing him away. 

DeMarco lowered his head and moved slowly, giving her time to say no at any point. 

She didn’t. His lips landed on hers, and the impact was nothing short of incendiary. He told himself it was because it had been so long since he’d done this, but he suspected that wasn’t entirely the case. 

The elevator makes the world’s slowest ascent upward before eventually depositing them on the top floor. They laugh as DeMarco fumbles with the key card, dropping it on the floor at her feet. 

“I’ll get it,” he whispers as he bends down, his eyes gliding up her body. Once inside, his entire focus is on the woman, his wife, as strange as it sounds to say.  

Ava walked inside, “DeMarco, can you afford a place this expensive?” The penthouse was breathtaking. Wall-to-wall windows with the city lights casting a romantic glow in the living room. 

“Um, in my line of work, I know people. Would you like something to drink?” 

“Yes,” Ava said, shaking like a leaf on the inside, like a tree on a windy night. She had never done anything bold and daring in her life. And she didn’t plan on stopping right now. From the first time she laid eyes on DeMarco, she’s found him attractive. And once she got to know him, he has always been the perfect gentleman. But he did have one major flaw: he’s penniless, an average Joe with nothing to offer someone like her.

All she needed was a drink to relax.

Ava says, "It feels so good to be out of those heels." 

He faced her as she stood there, smiling at him, and his eyes slowly roamed from her small, bare feet to a pair of legs that looked smooth as silk. And he knew she tasted as sweet as she looked.  

They sat there on the throw rug talking about how all this came about. Neither one of them fully believed they were indeed married to one another. Laughing at how she proposed left him in shock.

“And how you accepted my proposal was quite astonishing too.”

“You do know I’m DeMarco Bishop, the African American bartender?”  

Ava said, laughing, "I’m tipsy, not intoxicated. Yes, I know who you are, DeMarco.” 

“So, why do you want to surprise your parents this way?”

“Now they won't be able to force or demand I marry  someone.”  

DeMarco laughed. "No, this is dangerous. I never got the impression you were on the wild side.” 

She giggled. “Then you have a lot to learn. Now that I’ve had my wedding, we must have a reception party.”

DeMarco watched her as she got up, turned on some music, and began to dance. Their eyes stayed locked on one another, flirting across the room. DeMarco almost got whiplash watching her hips move. He winks at the exotic beauty, and she smiles sweetly at him.

He noticed her soft hands, adorned with long, polished French tip fingernails. Vibrant skin made her so compelling, drawing him to her like a magnet, wanting his back scratched by those nails! Giving his shoulders a shiver as he thought about it! Everything about her was potent and breathtaking. 

DeMarco couldn’t resist joining her in the middle of the floor. Ava sees and feels his slim body move sexily, with his firm butt, which was encased in fitted black slacks. 

It was quite enjoyable!  

It had been a long time since she had seen a man's dancing catch her attention. 

Her arms wrapped around his  V-shaped torso, flanked by a fitted shirt tapered at a narrow waist, and the way he moved his hips seductively was even more of a turn-on.

They both found it hilarious how they came together, now that they're dancing and conversing about it for hours. While long, silent minutes passed, they found themselves gazing into each other’s eyes.   

DeMarco steps forward and runs his hands from her waist up her torso. He realizes with a happy heart that she’s all his.

Is it only for tonight? Will he awaken, and she’s gone in the morning because all she thinks is that he could give her is one perfect night?

“Ava, will you be here tomorrow? What is this? Is this for real?

“I’ll be here tomorrow, next week, next month, and so on and so on.” She doesn’t even hesitate as she begins to undress. Standing before her, her fingers reach for the front clasp of her bra. DeMarco's heart was wild in his chest, and his head was swimming from the alcohol, the woman before him, and all the possibilities that lay ahead.

Was it the wine? Or the mixture of wine and tiredness? 

A blurry Day:

How much alcohol had it taken to get DeMarco where he couldn't entirely lift his head off the pillow? 

It was a good starter question. 

Something like this has never happened to him before. 

The second question: whose warm body was this sleeping next to him? 

That was an even bigger unanswered question. 

The feel of soft flesh made him smile in his sleep. This whole scene was a great reminder of just how much fun DeMarco had last night drinking and dancing with Ava.

His eyes popped open as he called out her name. "Ava?"