Pulse 3 (Pulse Series) (21 page)

“
It’s been a long time,” he sighed.

“
It has…”

“…
What are you doing out here?” I asked him. “Just looking for a good time?”

“
I was. I didn’t think I was actually going to find it. But…”

Rafael stared at the bar counter. A big smile appeared on his face and he burst into laughter.

“I have no idea what I’m doing here,” he said as he shook his head. “No idea at all…”

“
That makes two of us.”

“
Alice… I want to talk to you.
Just
talk.”

“
Of course. What is it?”

“
Not here. I think I’ve had enough of this place. What do you say to… dinner? Tomorrow night?”

I nodded. I didn
’t need more than a second to give him my answer. In the middle of the club, just like it was the first time I met him, he was what I was looking for. But even though it seemed so simple, I didn’t get my hopes up. Instead, I just enjoyed my time with him and appreciated the moment for what it was.

“
So, no hooking-up tonight?” I asked him with a smirk.

“
No,” he said as he shook his head. “This time will be different. I want to get off on the right foot with you. I want something more.”

Rafael smiled at me then made his way out of the club. I
watched him disappear into the crowd before he finally left. I didn’t know what he was thinking. But I knew that we had to do everything we could to finally make this work. This was our last chance.

Chapter 23

I sat at the dinner table with Rafael in a restaurant I was so used to being in. The gourmet food was a welcome change of pace from the usual things I’d been eating for the past few months. I’d never been more grateful to be with a man who could afford a meal like this.

“
So, how do you like it?” Rafael asked me.

I told him about my new job. It wasn
’t anything spectacular but he still managed to feign enthusiasm in what I was doing. I laughed and shrugged my shoulders as I took another bite of my food.

“
It’s work,” I said. “It’s nothing special but I’m capable of doing it. That’s the most important thing.”

Rafael nodded and smiled at me. Dinner was enjoyable for so many different reasons but simply having him here was enough to suffice.

“How about you?” I asked him. “How is the company?”

“
The company is fine. It’s always been fine. And the one thing I’ve learned more than anything in the past two months is that it will always be that way. There are a lot of good people working for the company…”

Rafael swirled a sip of wine around in his mouth befo
re eventually swallowing it down. I stared at him and the look on his face was more serious than it was just moments before.

“
You look different,” I said.

“
Different? What do you mean?”

“
You can’t work late nights in the office without it taking a toll on you. If you do it enough, it becomes obvious. But… I don’t see it anymore.”

“
And it’s because of you, Alice.”

“
What?”

“
I’ve… tried… I’ve tried to do my best to balance my schedule. I have a passion for my work. Like I told you before, I was doing it for myself. But ever since you left, it wasn’t the same. My desire for sitting around in the office was gone. The rush I used to get from running the company wasn’t the same.”

“
Rafael, are you saying—”

“
The company is important. It will always be important, Alice. But over the past two months, I thought about you. I thought about us. And I finally realized that you’re more important than anything else in my life. I don’t know what you were thinking but I never considered
us
to be over. I wanted to be the man I needed to be before I found you again.”

“
That explains why you never bothered replying to any of my messages.”

“
I’m sorry. But I just wasn’t in the right place.”

“
And now you are?”

It wasn
’t a simple question to answer. Even though it was clear that Rafael and I had obvious feelings for one another, the fact that our relationship could get so rocky in the first place meant that it could happen again. I wasn’t sure how things would change.

“
Do you remember when we first met?” he asked me. “I don’t know if you felt it but I did. I felt something. But everything changed once you started working for me. When I was your boss, it complicated everything. That was the problem.

“
I’m not your boss anymore, Alice. And I have no desire to be that man again. I just want to be me. I just want to be the man I know you love. I can be that man.”

“
Is it really that simple? Is this going to work now just because you’re no longer my boss? What about—”

“
I’ve spoken to Martin Green. It will be a slow transition but he will be in charge of the major decisions. There will be no need for me to stay late at the office. I don’t need to nor do I have the desire for it any longer. I just… I want you, Alice.”

There was nothing left
for him to say. If Rafael were everything he said he would be, then everything would work out. I didn’t know how or why. I could just feel it. And when I looked into his eyes, I believed that there was nowhere else for either of us to go. This was it.

“
Okay,” I said. “I don’t know if I can be the woman you need me to be but—”

“
I know, Alice. That’s all that matters. I know that you’re everything I’ve ever wanted. You’re everything I’ve ever needed. I spent two months away from you and all it did was make me realize that I needed to do everything I could to be the man that deserves someone like you. Only now am I confident that I can be that man. You just have to believe in me.”

“
I do believe in you.”

“
Alice, I love you.”

“
I-I love you, too, Rafael.”

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a familiar-looking piece of jewelry. The diamond and emerald bracelet never sparkled so bright before. I watched as Rafael placed it down on the table in front of me.

“I gave this to you because I wanted everyone to know that you were mine,” he said. “I wanted to blind everybody with a fancy piece of jewelry. I was the CEO of a billion-dollar company and this is the beautiful woman on my arm. I didn’t give you this bracelet because I knew you’d like it. I gave it to you because I wanted you to look good for me.”

He took the bracelet back and shoved it back into his jacket pocket. I was confused as to what he was actually getting at.

“All right,” I said. “I don’t have to wear that bracelet. It doesn’t matter to me anyway. It’s just a piece of jewelry. You know I don’t care about things like that.”

“
I know. But… Alice, I don’t want to waste anymore of our time. You might think I’m crazy. But I know that this is the best thing to do.”

He reached into his jacket again. I
stared at him curiously. As he held his hand inside of his suit, he paused for a moment. I didn’t know what he was getting at but I found myself moving closer to him.

Why is he hesitating? What is he doing?

He pulled something out of his jacket. I didn’t see what it was but he held it tight within his palm. He stood out of his seat. As he slowly fell to one knee, I finally saw what he was holding in his hand. He opened the small box. I swallowed, still not believing what I saw inside.

Rafael knelt in fro
nt of me. The eyes of everybody in the restaurant suddenly fell upon us. Even though it had happened before, the circumstances now were completely different. My mind was racing. I didn’t know what to think.

“
Alice, I’m not the same man I was when I first met you. I’ve changed. I’ve changed every single day. Only now, right now, do I know that I can be the man you want and need me to be. There’s no point in waiting any longer.

“
I love you, Alice. And I want you to be my wife.”

I swallowed as I tried to push
down all of the feelings swimming around in my stomach. Rafael stared at me and I found myself having trouble with my emotions. I couldn’t look back at him. As I looked around the restaurant, everybody surrounding me was staring with eager anticipation. They stared in a way that reassured me that this wasn’t a dream. This was real.

“
Alice, will you marry me?”

The feelings in my stomach finally pushed their way through the rest of my body. I thought I was going to vomit right then and there. I put my hand up
to my mouth to hold everything back. But the emotions were still bursting out of me like sand squeezing between my fingers. I couldn’t hold it back any longer.

“
Is this what you want?” I asked him.

“
Yes. I want you, Alice. Please… Say yes.”

I swallowed ag
ain in an attempt to keep everything down. I could feel my eyes glazing over. A tear leaked from the corner of my eye and I quickly pushed my hand up to brush it away.

“…
Yes.”

I sighed a deep breath after it came out. It felt like a giant weight had lifted
from my shoulders and I was floating in my seat. I could hardly believe it was happening. Rafael’s smile was beaming. There was a relief on his face that was undeniable.

As he grabbed my hand and slowly pushed the ring onto my finger, the people around us
began to applaud. But the sound of the people was lost upon me, as I still had trouble taking it all in.

Less than 24 hours ago, I thought my relationship with Rafael was over. I thought the perfect man was out of my life and I would never see him again.
Now he was here with me and pledging the rest of his life to me. I had trouble taking it all in. But I knew that, more than anything, I was happy. That’s all that mattered. And it was all I needed to know that I’d made the right decision.

When Rafael final
ly pushed the ring on my finger the rest of the way, he kissed my hand then held it close to his face.

“
I promise you that this is going to work,” he said with a smile.

“
You don’t have to make any promises,” I replied. “Just be the man I love. That will be enough.”

He nodded his head then leaned in close to me. He hugged me and I wrapped my arms around him just the same. His embrace had never been so tight before. I didn
’t want to let him go. And now that I had accepted his proposal, I wasn’t going to.

I en
joyed every second I spent with Rafael. I thought there was no way it could get better. But I was wrong. Only now did I understand why he was so special. Now, everything was perfect.

Chapter 24

I pressed my hands down onto his chest. His hard pect
orals made it difficult for me to get a good grip. The tinge of sweat upon his skin didn’t help. But I needed something. There was no way I would be able to maintain my balance.

He reached his hands up and gripped my waist. I positioned myself on top of hi
m and proceeded to grind against him. I could feel him inside of me. His length pressed against my insides. His hilt rubbed my clitoris. I gasped as I felt my entire body vibrate with pleasure.

“
Do you… like that?” I moaned.

“
Yeah. Don’t stop.”

“
You like how I ride you?”

“
Yes…”

I looked down into his eyes. The two of us stared hard at one another. The feeling was spreading and I was losing control of all of my senses. I strained and worked all of my muscles as best I could. I was close. But I didn
’t want to finish. Not yet.

The cool breeze wafted in from the window. The smell of the ocean wafted into my nostrils. The air filled my lungs and invigorated me. The scent must have worked on him just the same.

He gripped my hips tighter. He lifted his ass up from the mattress and pushed himself into me. He pounded me with hard and deep strokes. My moans became stuttered to the rhythm. His hard flesh impaled me. My grip on his chest loosened and the only thing keeping me up was the stiffness of his cock.

The sound of our bodies colliding against one another grew louder and louder. He grunted as he began to work even harder.

“That’s it… Ride me… Just like that…”

The pleasure was too much for me. I couldn
’t respond to him. Instead, I sealed my eyes shut and tilted my head back. He was rocking himself into me. So fast. So hard. So deep. I was losing control of my body but I was begging for more.

“
Don’t… stop…”