“Easy there, tiger,” she laughed against his lips. “No need to rush, darling. We’ve got all night.”
“Are you sure?” He asked uncertainly. “What about your friends?”
“What about them? I’m not their babysitter. They’re all probably at home already by now, sleeping off all that margarita. I’ll give them a call later.”
“Good. I don’t want the cops beating down my door on allegations of a possible kidnapping.”
Rachel laughed. “Stop being dramatic. They know I’m out here having a great time.”
“Are you?”
“I guess I’m about to find out, aren’t I?”
It was a challenge, and Derek loved challenges. He carried her off the ottoman and took her to the bed where he laid her on the soft surface like a delicate flower. First, he took off her figure-hugging T-shirt before taking off her ripped cut-off denim pants. He took a moment to admire her voluptuous body and wondered what the hell made him prefer skinny women all these years? This woman on his bed was a masterpiece with her sexy curves and rounded figure.
“Do you like what you see?” She asked teasingly.
“I love it,” he breathed thickly. “You are the sexiest woman I have ever had the pleasure to undress, Rachel.”
“What a compliment,” she giggled. “Now, it’s your turn. Show me what you’ve got.”
With a confident grin, Derek removed his shirt then his pants, and finally, his underwear. Rachel’s gasp of admiration was the only compliment he needed before joining her on the bed.
“I didn’t see any gym equipment here, so how do you manage to stay in shape?” She asked.
“There’s a gym downstairs on the second floor of the building. I work out there three times a week with my trainer.”
“More power to you,” she laughed. “Wanna see something cool?”
He nodded and watched with delight as she undid the clasp of her bra and her full boobs tumbled out in all their rounded glory. She took his palm and laid it on her bosom, and Derek took it up from there, kneading the soft mass gently. When he lowered his lips on her boob, Rachel thought she would explode with pleasure. She hadn’t been intimate with anyone since her last relationship ended, so this feels like a new experience for her.
Derek took his time caressing her soft body and showering her with feathery kisses that made her sigh. He loved how she ran her hands over his body as he continued to feel her up. This was a give and take moment; not a competition as it always happened between him and Carrie or any of his other lovers, he didn’t feel the need to rush this tender experience he was having with this gloriously beautiful woman he’d only met a few hours ago. He wanted to savor this encounter and imprint it in his memory forever.
For Rachel, it seemed as if she was making love with the love of her life. It didn’t matter that she barely knew this guy, but being here with him like this felt so right. Their movements were so synchronous, so harmonious, so familiar yet so new. He whispered beautiful nothings in her ear and she murmured incoherently in response as he joined himself to her and their bodies began to move in unison. When they reached that glorious moment of release, they clung to each other tightly and no words were said afterward because none were needed.
When he’d finally caught his breath after a couple of minutes, Derek asked, “Wanna try that again?”
Rachel giggled delightedly. “I don’t see why not,” she said.
“Awesome!”
**********
Morning came with Rachel’s senses and for the first time in the past ten hours, she finally asked herself what had come over her to make her go home with a stranger and have sex with him. And the worst part of it all was that they hadn’t used protection!
“Shit,” she cursed and threw back the covers, but before she could get out of the bed, a strong arm encircled her midriff, drawing her back into a cocoon of warmth.
“Where are you rushing off to?” Derek murmured sleepily.
“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“You didn’t. What’s up?”
“I have to get back home,” she said seriously without looking at him. She had become shy for some reason. The wanton Rachel has finally given way to sensible Rachel, and right now, all she wanted to do was to get the hell out of this place.
“It’s just 6 a.m. Rachel, what’s the hurry?” He asked as sleep began to clear from his eyes. Something about the set of her shoulders and how she avoided looking at him told him something was off with her. He tried to quickly rewind his memory to see if there was something he must have done or said last night that might have offended her, but he drew a blank.
“Are you ok?” He asked her softly.
“Yeah, sure,” she said lightheartedly. She didn’t want him to think that something was wrong when the only problem here was that she was having a sober reflection and didn’t quite concern him. She firmly disengaged his arm from her middle and she got off the bed, then picked up her clothing and went into the bathroom to get dressed.
Derek was confused by Rachel’s change in demeanor and he didn’t know whether to ask her about it when she returned from the bathroom or let it slide. To the best of his knowledge, everything that had happened between them had been consensual and she had been the one who initiated the first kiss. Why was she now acting strangely?
When Rachel returned to the room, she was fully dressed and she looked like her old self again with that cheerful smile and perfectly tousled auburn hair that framed her beautiful face.
“Thank you for last night, Derek,” she said sincerely. “I had such a great time. So… this is the part where I say goodbye and skedaddle.”
He sighed. “You’re welcome, Rachel. Although I kinda feel like you are running away from me and I don’t know why.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Why would I run away from you?” She laughed, trying to lighten the mood in the room. She could tell that Derek wasn’t buying her carefree act.
“Will I see you again?” He asked softly.
Rachel knew that it was time for her to be honest with herself – having a one-night stand with a handsome billionaire was the stuff of epic romance stories, but this was real life here. Was she ready for the attention and pressure that came with dating a famous wealthy man? Was she ready to have her life scrutinized by strangers and analyzed by gossip magazines? She loved her simple life as it was and she didn’t think she was ready to rock the boat by getting seriously involved with Derek. Besides, dating a billionaire may not be as fun as having a one-off tryst with him.
“I’m not sure that’s such a great idea, Derek,” she said finally after ruminating for a few minutes. “Let’s just carry on with our lives, separately.”
Derek couldn’t hide his shock. No woman had ever turned him down before. Her rejection stung his ego, making his countenance rigid as a rock.
“Fine,” he said flatly, then reached for the drawer of his nightstand where he pulled out wads of hundred dollar bills. “Here, this is for you.”
Rachel was stunned. Why was he offering her money? Was he trying to pay her for sleeping with him or what?
“What’s that for?” She asked with a grimace.
He shrugged. “For a taxi or whatever.”
“How much do you think a taxi ride costs? What exactly are you offering me money for?”
“Look, all you had to say was, ‘No, thank you.’ There’s no need to insinuate nonsense. Do you want the money or not?”
“No, I don’t want your money!”
“Fine,” he said and flung the cash back into the drawer. “You know your way out, don’t you?”
Rachel couldn’t believe his attitude. Why was he being so rude? Wasn’t this the same Derek that had been so sweet to her all night and even this morning? Was this how he handled rejection, by being disrespectful?
She ignored his question and walked out of the room as calmly as she could manage. She wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her much as his words and bad manners had hurt her. He didn’t deserve her energy and she wasn’t going to waste it on him. He was a sore loser and she was better off without him.
“Don’t be sad, Rachel,” she whispered to herself as she got into the elevator. “You’ve just dodged a bullet.”
As soon as Rachel left, Derek felt like an asshole. Why had he behaved that way like a jilted teenager? Ok, so it was shocking to him that she had turned down his offer to meet again, but so what? Men got turned down every day, so why did he think he was too good to be rejected? Because he had more money than most men?Disgusted with himself, he threw back the covers and got out of bed then marched angrily to the bathroom. Inside, he got a faint whiff of Rachel’s perfume and his gut tightened involuntarily. Perhaps it was just as well that things had ended sourly between them this morning because that woman was trouble, plain and simple. He didn’t quite believe in love, but Rachel looked like the kind of woman that might make him start thinking about that strong emotion.He had seen what love does to even the strongest and most level-headed men, how it turned them to mush and made them do stupid things. His father was an example of a victim of love – the older Fraser had made the mist
Derek spent the rest of his morning working out in the gym until his muscles were sore and begging for mercy. It was the only way to successfully obliterate his encounter with Rachel from his mind permanently. Feeling invigorated afterward, he took a shower, got dressed, and took his favorite Lamborghini for a spin.While in the car, he put a phone call through to Cassie but she didn’t respond, so he scrolled through his contact list and found another woman who might be available for him. His call was answered on the second ring.“Hi, Derek!” The woman on the other end of the line said with a high-pitched voice that showed how excited she was to receive his call.“What’s up, Gwen. How are you doing?” He said casually.“How are you doing, babe? I thought you’d forgotten all about me.”Derek chuckled. “You know that’s not possible. I’ve been very busy.”“That’s what you always say,” said Gwen sulkily.“All right, let me make it up to you. Where are you right now?”“At home.”“Why don’t
Six weeks later…Rachel blew out a shaky breath as she walked into the reception area of the office building. She had been psyching herself up for weeks before this meeting, still, she wasn’t ready for it but she couldn’t postpone it any longer.“Hello, how may I help you?” Asked the pretty blond receptionist with a bright smile.“Uh, hi,” said Rachel, uncertainly. Her heart was pouncing wildly in her chest and her palms were sweaty. “I’m here to see Derek Fraser,” she said, trying to match the receptionist’s dazzling smile.“Do you have an appointment?”“Um, no, but it’s very important that I see him today.”“I’m sorry, Miss, but that won’t be possible. You can only see Mr. Fraser if you have an appointment with him. If you give me your name and contact details, I can send them to his personal secretary and she might set up an appointment for you.”Rachel tried to hide her frustration but she knew it would be impossible to see Derek without getting past this receptionist first. It ha
When they finally reached the 16th floor and the elevator doors opened, Rachel quickly staggered out of it and gulped in air through her mouth while holding unto a pillar in the hallway for some balance.“Rachel, you’re as white as paper,” said Derek, his voice filled with concern for her. “Should I call a doctor or an ambulance?”“No,” she said weakly. “I need to sit down.”He put an arm around her and gently led her toward his office. “Please, get me some water for her to drink,” he said to his secretary as he passed by her desk.“Uh, sure,” said the secretary who couldn’t understand what was going on with her boss and the sickly lady.He led her to the Chester couch in his office and helped her to settle down. The secretary came in just then with a tray containing a jug of water and a tumbler. She poured the water into the glass and offered it to Rachel.“Thank you,” said Rachel, accepting the tumbler of water and taking a few sips. “I feel better, thanks,” she said with a shaky sm
“We are saying the same thing, my friend,” said Jonah, sympathetically.“Damn! This can’t be happening to me. I am always so careful. I let my guard down once, and boom, I’m being accused of pregnancy.”“ ‘Accused of pregnancy?’ Are you serious? You make it sound like a crime,” laughed Jonah.“This isn’t funny, Jonah. This is my life we are talking about here. My reputation is at stake. What if she goes to the press with this?”“As I said, getting a woman pregnant isn’t a crime, Derek. I’ve done it twice and I’m not in jail right now.”“You are married.”“And you could be too.”“Never! I’ve told you many times already that I will never get married. I will never give up my freedom and sanity for a piece of paper that will have me giving half of my fortune to some woman if she eventually decides to leave me.”“Marriage is more than just a piece of paper, Derek. It’s a union of heart, body, and souls,” said Jonah, seriously.“Miss me with that BS, Jonah. I’m not interested and that’s tha
When Rob saw her, he gasped in shock. “Oh my gosh, Rachel. What happened to you?”Her hair was disheveled, her hair was a mess, her face was streaked with tears and her eyes were bloodshot from crying non-stop. Her oversized T-shirt was rumpled and stained with drops of chocolate ice cream and her legs were unshaven.Her apartment looked like a war zone; magazines everywhere, furniture askew, dirty plates and cutlery everywhere, floors littered with snack wrappers, and the whole place stank.“Geez, Rachel. What’s this? Are you doing drugs?”She ignored his question and continued her slow walk back to her bedroom where she landed heavily on the bed, exhausted from the short walk.Rob was not surprised to see that her bedroom was even in worse shape than her living room. “Are you going to tell me what is going on, or do I have to squeeze it out of you?”“I messed up, Rob,” she said softly and her chin began to wobble. She couldn’t believe that she still had any tears left in her eyes, b
As they had expected, their mother threw a fit when she heard the news of Rachel’s pregnancy. She had only recently come to terms with the news of Rob’s sexuality and now this was happening. Why?“How could you let that happen, Rachel?” Asked Rosemary Lane with a horrified expression. “I thought you were a sensible young woman, how could you do this to me?”“This isn’t about you, Mom,” said Rob, rolling his eyes.“How could you embarrass me like this?” Rosemary continued, ignoring her son’s comment. “What have I ever done to deserve this?”“I’m sorry, Mom. It wasn’t intentional,” said Rachel. “It just happened.”“What do you mean by ‘it just happened’ as if it was an accident? Were you walking down the street and just stumbled on the pregnancy? Was that how it happened? Did someone just throw it at you? Or you accidentally had sex and got pregnant? What part of this wasn’t intentional?”Rachel sighed but said nothing. If it were up to her, she wouldn’t have informed her mother about t
One year later…Derek stretched his long legs and reclined in his seat as his private jet gunned through the clouds, on its way back to the United States. He’d spent the last four days in Santorini, Greece, celebrating his 32nd birthday with his friends and a bunch of exotic girls. It was supposed to be a seven-day holiday, but by the third day which was the day after his birthday, he had begun to grow restless. He missed his job and just eating, drinking, and having sex with random girls was beginning to bore him.His friends had begged him to complete the one-week holiday with them, but he had refused. One more day of playing would totally drive him crazy and he couldn’t stand it anymore. The entire holiday and the trip back home had all been paid for, so he told his friends to have fun on his behalf while he returned to his base to regain his sanity.Now on his way back home, he felt relieved and excited at the same time. There was a small tech start-up that was pitching for seed f