Find Her, Keep Her (12 page)

I respond that I will get back to him in two days with photos and a teaser. Although to be honest, I’m not quite sure that will happen.
 

I also have three magazines requesting articles covering Peru, Mali, and cities around the Caspian Sea, which can be a little dangerous. Before all hell broke loose in my life, I would’ve said yes to Peru and Mali and probably to the Caspian Sea. I would’ve penciled each trip in my calendar, and they would’ve brought purpose to my life.
 

For now, I don’t answer any of the editors yet. I need a few days to decide. I sit back in the black leather swivel chair and look out the window. What a nice office space. The sun has long set, so it’s dark out, but yard lights illuminate the trees beyond the window.
 

Belmont is somewhere in the house when I decide to get up and get dressed. He sure does know how to give me space, and for that, I’m appreciative.
 

Funny, I can’t get a song out of my head, and now I’m humming it. It’s “Need You Now” by Lady Antebellum.
 

I make it to the bedroom. I strip out of my dress and decide to take another shower. The warm water rains down on my skin, and the steam encapsulates me. Now I’ve gone from humming to singing. I sound awful, but it doesn’t matter. I love this song, and not even the water spraying my face can quiet me.
 

“Who, me?” Belmont whispers in my ear. His naked body rubs against my backside as his hands on my belly draw me into him. “If you need me now, then here I am.”

I giggle like a teenager with a crush. My eyes are still closed when he spins me around to face him. “What are you doing?” I try to blink my eyes open.

“No.” He covers my eyes. “Keep them closed.”
 

“Why?”
 

He removes his hand, and I open them. “Trust me, Daisy.” His dry lips kiss my moist ones. “Close them.” He waits for me to do as he asks.
 

I concede with a deep sigh. Suddenly, the hand that has become as familiar to me as a third limb slides between my thighs. I step my legs apart.

“Don’t move,” he orders and prompts me to move my leg back where it was before. “No matter what I do to you, don’t move.”

I chuckle nervously. I figured Belmont was a sexologist, but he is quite naughty.
 

“You’re slippery,” he whispers heavily.
 

His hands squeeze my breasts, and then his teeth bite my nipple. I part my lips to release a gasp when I feel the sting. The throbbing is quickly replaced with a soft, sensual warmth. He does the same thing to the other breast, following the pain with pleasure. Belmont mutters something unintelligible as his hot mouth bites and sucks up to my neck. He’s breathing hard through his nose as he sucks harder and harder.

And then there’s nothing, only the water spraying my back.
 

“Open your eyes,” he says, panting.

I open them immediately. He’s staring at me, conflicted.

“What’s wrong?” I ask. I would have thought he’d lost his desire to go through with whatever he had planned, but his erection is still pointing straight at me.

Without saying a word, he takes me by the waist and lifts my feet off the shower floor. Instinctively, I wrap my legs around him. We haven’t broken eye contact.

He’s shivering like he’s cold as he inserts himself in me. I whimper because it feels so good.
 

“Shush,” he pleads. “I want this to last.”

I nod, making sure I don’t make a sound. He doesn’t shift my hips or his. This is the strangest moment ever.
 

“What’s wrong?” I finally whisper.
 

“I want to be inside of you, that’s all.”

“Oh…”

“I think I’m going to lose you,” he confesses.

I flinch, taken aback, and as soon as I move, his body jerks and he grunts, letting loose inside of me.
 

“Shit.” He shakes his head. “I don’t know what the hell’s going on with me when it comes to you.”

“It’s okay.” I try to sound consoling. I unhook my legs to stand on my own two feet, but he lifts me higher, signaling me to put them back.

Belmont opens the shower door, carries me out, and walks us to the bed. He lays on top of me. “You’re on the pill?”
 

“Oh, now you ask.”

He plugs me once, twice, three times with his brand new, hardening erection. We grin at each other.
 

“Yes, I am,” I answer. “Although I never tested its potency to this extent. Heck, I hadn’t had sex in three months before you came along.”
 

He kisses me. “Happy I could oblige.”

I sniff, chuckling.

“We could do it you know.” His eyes are all alight.

However, my eyes widen in horror, knowing exactly where he’s going. “Do what?”
 

“Have a kid. You and me.”

I grunt and try to wiggle out from under him. He jabs me with his penis a few more times, and I end up holding on to him again.

“You don’t want to have children?” he asks after he’s regained control of me.

“Why are you asking me this when you’re inside of me injecting me with baby-making juice?”

He laughs out loud. “‘Baby-making juice.’ I never heard that before!”

“Well that’s what it is. And you know the pill isn’t a hundred percent, so we should be careful. Especially in six days.”

“What’s happening in six days?” There he goes prodding me with his penis again, sliding in and out of me slowly, indulgently.
 

“I think I ovulate.”

“So we have six days to fuck non-stop.”

“Stop it,” I say with a moan.

“Do you really want me to stop?”

There he goes, knowing exactly where he’s poking me.
 

“No, don’t stop doing that. Stop talking…” I whisper.
 

He stabs me in that spot and rotates his hips. I whimper as that sensation stirs inside of me.
 

It’s coming…

I try to grab the sheets, but they’re not strong enough. My hands clamp around his hilly biceps. That does something to him. His hips move faster, and he stabs me harder.

“Come for me, baby,” he coaxes me. “Feel it… Do you feel it?”

“Yes,” I screech.

“I can feel you tightening around me,” he says breathlessly as he continues his relentless attack on that spot. “You like this?” He reaches under to grab my butt, and he shoves me into him.

Suddenly I experience the explosion. It’s severe and saturates my entire nether region. Belmont doesn’t release the pressure until long after the feeling subsides.
 

I’m breathing heavily when I open my eyes. He stares at me, smiling and satisfied. As soon as I smile back, he shoves deeper inside of me, thrusting and thrusting until he lets go in his usual dramatic fashion.

Once he stills, he flips me around to lie on top of his chest. I close my eyes to listen to him breathe. I’m safe in his arms and completely relaxed.
 

We lie like that for a while. My skin is drying, but his body is so strong and warm. He wraps his arms around me, still inside of me, and I melt like butter against his chest.

“Daisy!” Belmont’s body quickens. He rattles me out of the sleep I fell into. “It’s seven!”
 

We both hop out of bed. He rushes to call the restaurant to let Maya and Adrian know we’re on our way.
 

I get dressed, but there’s no time to be meticulous. However, I can never go wrong with my black-and-white, polka-dot, cap-sleeved Dior dress. Instead of twisting my hair into a tight bun like I usually do when I wear this dress, I fluff out my already puffy mane. It’s been duly noted that Belmont likes it this way. I slip my feet into a pair of red, ankle-strapped Sergio Rossi sandals.

“Whoa, you look like a million bucks,” Belmont says when he walks into the bedroom.
 

He once again takes me by surprise. He’s not big on announcing himself or knocking, and I’m shocked that it doesn’t bother me. I love seeing his big smile and bright hazel eyes. I’ll never stop loving the way he looks at me.

“Thanks to the consignment shops in the East and West Village,” I say, showing off the Dior.

“I like that about you,” he says, revealing the thought behind his admiring smile.

“What? That I chase down big-name labels in the consignment stores of Manhattan”—I dip my head to one side—“Paris, Milan. There are some really good ones in London too. Oh”—I lift a finger because I almost forgot—“and of course L.A. But the best ones are in New—”

I can’t finish the sentence because he draws me against his body. Note to self–he likes pulling me into him.

Almost ceremoniously, he puts his lips against mine. “Um, you smell good,” he whispers once our lips part.
 

“By the way,” I whisper, “you look really good too.”

He has on a camel-colored vest over a crisp white button-down shirt. His gray, pinstriped trousers fit him like they would a male runway model. I never noticed this until now but his legs are slight bowed. Goodness, he’s so sexy.

“Thank you.” He smiles.
 

“We fit.” I grin.

“I’m not surprised.”

“You know, that’s a big plus in my book. I like a sharp-dressed man.”

He chuckles, but there’s a sensual ring in his tone. “Let’s get the hell out of here before I rip that dress off you and throw you on that bed.”

I gasp, feigning offense. “If you rip this dress, then you’ll have to buy me a new one.”

“I’ll buy you a dozen.” He kisses my top lip. “A red one…” He kisses my bottom lip. I smile harder. “A green one...” He kisses my top lip again. “A yellow one…” Our tongues wrap around each other. He sighs long and deep, grabs my hand, and walks me out of the bedroom.

Once we’re on the road to Edgartown, I let Belmont know that tomorrow, I want to roam the grounds alone to get some shots of the property. He insists on giving me a tour, but I adamantly decline. I can’t work and have sex with him every five minutes. He’s too insatiable, and I have a job to do. He says he knows all the secret spots around his house and they’ll be interesting details to add to my article.

“Can we have sex in those spots?”
 

I watch him with my eyebrows lifted.

“All right,” he relents. “I get your point. I’ll give you a map. I have work to do anyway.”

“Really, work?” I feign shock. “You work?”

He chuckles. “Every goddamn day, even on the weekends. I’m sure the guys are wondering where the hell I am. At the moment, I’m building six houses on the Vineyard and two in Nantucket. And that goddamn retreat in Aquinnah is killing me.” He glances at me. “Your presence has distracted me.”
 

“Well, yours has distracted me too. Heck, I came here to write a story.”

We fall silent. I gaze out the windshield. The wind has picked up and is blowing the trees westward. Stupid me didn’t bring a sweater or coat. I would’ve remembered if I had gone outside, but I entered the car from the well-insulated garage.
 

“I want you to stay here with me. Don’t go back to L.A. That city is shitty anyway,” Belmont says.

I turn to study him, wondering if he’s lost his mind. “Are you serious?”
 

He makes a right onto Main Street. “I am.” He makes a left on Church and then a right down a small alley. He parks in a large, nearly empty parking lot.

“But my life is there,” I mutter, studying my hands in my lap. The engine turns off. I feel his eyes on me.
 

“Your life is wherever you are.” He shows me that million-dollar grin and winks.
 

“Let’s just see,” I say, offering a momentary compromise.

“It’s not a flat-out ‘no,’ so I’ll take it.”
 

I feel as though I’m walking on air as we head to the restaurant. I ponder leaving L.A. Other than Adrian, there’s nothing for me there. My dad lives in Windsor Hills with his new family, and my mom lives in Pacific Palisades with hers. They’re both busy with their other children and their jobs. He’s a music producer, and she produces prime-time television. They work hard and long hours and as a result they were the ones who taught me how to be a workaholic.
 

I see them every now and then, but usually it’s on a holiday like Christmas, and our reunions are very awkward. I’ve never voiced it, but watching my new brothers and sisters upsets me. I can’t stop myself from feeling that in real life, none of them should be here. Daniel, my brother, should’ve never been hit by that car. I should’ve never witnessed his body flying high in the air and then slamming down on the concrete, breaking his neck and killing him instantly. Every time I look at my new brothers and sisters, all I see is Daniel, eyes wide open, watching me as if he’s apologizing over and over again for leaving me alone in this world. Maybe that’s why packing up and leaving the city pains me. His soul still lives there at 6556 Poplar Avenue.
 

“A dollar for your thoughts,” Belmont says when we reach the crowd of people in front of the restaurant waiting to be seated.

I put a quick kiss on his lips. “I’ll tell you later.”

He doesn’t let me go that easily. In front of all those eyes, he lifts my chin to kiss me long and deep.
 

I try not to look at anyone when he opens the door because that kiss was a little too much for public consumption.

“They’re already seated,” he says after clearing his throat.
 

Across the room, eyeing us intensely, are Maya and Adrian. He’s scowling and I’m sure, like everyone else, he saw the sensual kiss that Belmont just laid on me through the window. The restaurant is not very large, nor is it tiny; it’s intimate. Maya and Adrian are seated near the wall, away from the center of the floor. I imagine they asked for privacy. When we get to the table, Belmont pulls my chair out for me.

“Pretty dress,” Maya says as I sit.

“Thanks,” I mumble and look at her.

She’s wearing an aqua-blue, one-shoulder, skin-tight number. Although she’s seated, I’m sure it’s just as short as it is fitted. She doesn’t mind showing her crotch to the entire world. Tonight, she’s wearing pink lip gloss and blue eye shadow above a smoky eye.