The Escort

He was on her again before she could draw breath or think to remove herself from his path.

"You don't realize what you do to me, do you?" His voice held astonishment now, the fury gone, replaced by amusement and wonder. "I could have ravished you the first time you avoided my eyes in that dining room, because we both knew the last thing we wanted to do was sit there, being civilized, politely introducing ourselves and eating sushi for starters. And every time I look at you, I still can!"

He held her far enough away so he could look her in the eye before he continued.

"You asked why you. I ask why NOT you? Why do you think you aren't worthy? D'you think I never knew that inside, where it counts, you are no more a call girl than I am a pimp? D'you think I bought that whole business-like demeanor, that cool detachment that you fought so hard to keep, and that I fought as hard to strip away? D'you think I made you come over and over when we made love because I was just a kind john wanting to give his whore a good time?"

He let the raw words push past the wall he could feel her trying to slip around herself like a cloak. He wanted her angry, because then he could break down the high barriers that she had erected to protect herself from being hurt. If he had to hurt her to heal her, he would, he decided in that moment. He didn't want to have to keep coming back to this moment of truth. He wanted to move on with her, away from this place to one where they were equals, to where she believed in herself, and believed that he loved her.

Her eyes flashed for a moment before she tried again to lower them. But he was not having it any longer.

"Look at me, dammit! Stop hiding from me! Be mad if you want, but for God's sake, be mad because it matters, because you hurt, because you want me as much as I want you, because you want to claim me, like I intend to claim you! Let go, Gael! Please!"

He felt her dissolving then, like sugar crystals in water, and he pulled her fully into his arms, wishing he could steal away the pain she was feeling. He felt warm tears wetting his shirt where her face rested against his chest, and he hugged her tightly, wanting her to feel his understanding, his concern, his love. When she finally raised her head and moved, he held her till she said, a watery sniffle issuing from her,

"I need tissue, unless you want snot all over you as well as tears, Matt!"

He let her go reluctantly, but followed her to the drawer she opened, and when she took the box of tissues out, he extracted one and held it to her nose.

"Blow!" he said, resisting when she tried to take it from him. "Blow!" he ordered again, and then helped her clean her face and dry her eyes.

"All right now?" he asked, when he had discarded the tissues and turned again to face her.

"Yes, thank you!"

Her smile was tremulous, and he found he could no more keep from touching her than he could keep from breathing. He tilted her head up for another kiss, this one tender and warm, coaxing her to open for him, to let him in, to let him seduce her. Her mouth was a flower opening to the sun, absorbing his heat and strength, blossoming and growing till, before he knew it, he was pouring himself into the kiss. He could feel her heart thudding hard against his, seeming to match the pace his set, their breathing a harmony of sound around them in the quiet kitchen.

"Tell me, Gael! Don't keep me in suspense any more!"

"I do more than care for you, Matt!" she said, suddenly shy of a man who had seen her naked more times than she could count. When he shook her, she smiled.

"I love you, Gael. Is that so hard to say?"

She raised her eyes to his, and felt the shock of recognition again, as she had that first time. "No, it's not, Matt! I love you, too!"

His smile sent fire streaking through her. "You mean so much to me, honey, more than I can explain right now. I love the charm and wit and warmth you share with me. I love the way you chuckle when you're reading, the way you lick your lips when you eat ice cream, the way you hold my hand in the scary parts of the movies, and hide your face when they get worse. I love the way you smell when you're fresh from the shower, and the way you wear those expensive fragrances you like to wear. I love the way you fill out your dresses, and how you look without a bra. I love your naked body, your tousled hair, your pouty lips, your long, wrap-around-me-and-hold-me-tight legs. I love you, honey. D'you believe me?"

"Only if you believe that I was only afraid to admit how I feel because rejection and I are old friends. It was easier to think that you were just a kind man I was crushing on, like a schoolgirl, and when I couldn't deny my feelings to myself anymore, it was easier to pretend with you that I was just an efficient escort whose services you appreciated, like a good businessman appreciates his accountant," she answered, holding his gaze bravely.

He kissed her again, hotly now, hungrily, pushing aside the strap of her tank top so he could lick her shoulder on the way to the crook of her neck, where he bit her gently, enough to show her what he was feeling, if the erection he pressed against her wasn't enough of a clue. Their tongues dueled as he lifted her, swinging her around and walking slowly, so he could savor the flavor of her on his tongue as he headed toward the stairs. She moaned, and suddenly he wondered if he had the strength to wait till they were in her bedroom. The sound went straight to his hard rod, making it jerk in anticipation. He backed her against the wall, and ravaged her mouth, adding the sounds of his own desire to the ones that issued from her.

"There's a bedroom at the other end of the hallway," she murmured when he let her up for air, the smile she blessed him with teasing a smile from him in return.

"I can't wait any longer, honey," he answered, and headed in the direction she pointed. He didn't wait to put her on her feet before he was kissing her again, suckling on her like a hungry infant. When he let her down, he slid his hands over the roundness of her bottom inside the loose sweat pants, squeezing the plump cheeks and groaning.

"You're so fine, honey, every sweet inch of you. I promise finesse next time, but I've been on a razor's edge since I came here last night, and I can't hold out any longer. Say you'll forgive me if I get a little bit rough?"

She reached for him, stroking him through his trousers, and moaned at the evidence of his desire pulsing against her hand.

"As long as you promise," she said, teasing him.

He pulled her tank top over her head, and gazed for a heartbeat at her full breasts, the nipples standing at attention, stiff and aching. He flicked them with his tongue, once, twice, again, then sucked each into his mouth, feeling her groans against the tips of his fingers where he caressed her in the valley between them.

He pulled her body closer, and pressed himself against her, trapping her hand between them.

"Matt, please," she begged him, feeling her most sensitive and needy places weeping for his touch.

'Please what, Gael? What do you want from me?" His voice was hoarse now, and he kneeled before her to strip the pants and undies from her body, leaving her stark naked before his hungry gaze. Still on his knees, he sniffed at her woman's parts, inhaling deeply, letting her scent work its way through him, shaking with the need to have her completely.

"I want everything, Matt!" she answered, pulling his face into her mound, demanding he taste her.

"Too bad, baby, because right now, this is all I have to give you."

He thrust two fingers into her without ceremony, dragging a desperate cry from her, and he tasted her sweet nectar, flicking his tongue over the tiny bud of nerves that made her shake where she stood. Her knees buckled, and he caught her and lowered her to the bed, barely pausing to arrange her as he wished before continuing his feast.

Her orgasm rolled over her before she was ready for it, and Matt sipped on the bounty it supplied, wringing the last drops of come from her before removing his fingers and standing, undressing in a hurry and presenting her with the length and breadth of his arousal, needing to feel her mouth on him, just for the time it took to wind her up again so he could take her.

She sucked him greedily, the noises she was making ratcheting up his desire, and he rocked against her face, biting back the cries that rose in his throat. It was heaven to be in her mouth, to feel her tongue swirling around the head, to feel her take him into her throat. He cried out at that touch, and she looked up at him, the emotion in her eyes making him want to roar in triumph.

Much as he wanted to stay just where he was, he knew he needed to take her as her lover, not her client, to seal the new relationship between them. Shuddering with reaction, he pulled himself out of her mouth, earning a loud protest from her. He pushed her up the bed, and turned her over, raising her hips and piling the pillows under it. He groaned at the sight of her, glistening and open for him, and he bent to kiss her cheeks and trail his tongue over them, nipping as he teased her, his fingers busy in her wet heat, raising her temperature, bringing her back up to where he needed her.

"Please, Matt!" she begged him again, and he took pity on her, slapping her cheeks lightly before surging up and thrusting in to the hilt. They were joined in more than body as he began to take them higher, moving with her to the age-old rhythms, taking her hard and fast, branding her with sharp nips on her shoulders, their breaths coming in harsh gasps of sound. She mewled like a cat in heat, and he reached around and squeezed her nipples, then slid his fingers down, making her squeal with delight and roll her hips against him. He played with her, feeling her thrust against him when he pushed her legs wider so he could go deeper. "Come for me, baby! Let it go!"

Her legs shook, and he felt her tremble violently as she came, her channel flooding with her cream as she cried out his name and took him over the edge with her. They collapsed onto the bed, and he rolled off her, his breath sawing in and out of his lungs, pulling her into his arms, smiling at her breathlessness.

"Tell me again, Gael!" He squeezed her shoulder and turned his head to kiss her damp forehead. "I want to hear it again."

"I love you, Matt!" She gave him the words he wanted to hear, and curled herself against him, her bottom cradling his still semi-hard erection.

"We belong together, honey. Never forget that." He kissed her cheek tenderly, and then smiled, feeling her deep breathing against his hand. "Go ahead and sleep, baby. You'll need all the rest you can get now."

"Why?" she asked sleepily, turning her head to look at him.

"Because I'm going to love trying out all the ways I've been dreaming of to wake you up and ravish you!" He kissed her slack mouth. "Goodnight, sweetheart! I love you, too!"