Love's Deception Page 3

  I sat at the island, and he poured me a glass of wine. Then he rolled up his sleeves and took out what looked like pre-cut vegetables, beef, and chicken. “It’s my twist on stir-fry,” he said as he started mixing the ingredients. “I prepped it all beforehand so it wouldn’t take as long now. I didn’t want you to starve.”

  “Is that it? Or maybe you’re just impatient and wanted dinner over quickly so you can get to the dessert.”

  “Guilty,” he said with a chuckle.

  I watched him work, the muscles in his arms flexing as he moved his hands back and forth between the ingredients and the stove. This felt oddly intimate, me sitting in his kitchen watching him cook for me. The guys I’d dated before were all in college, so I was lucky if they had a working kitchen they shared with four other guys. Nolan was only a couple of years older, but he seemed like another generation out of my league. I felt older with him, someone worthy of having a guy cook me dinner so he could woo me before he slept with me.

  “You’re staring,” he commented.

  “You’re easy to stare at,” I retorted.

  “Just wait until you see me without clothes on,” he answered with a wink. I felt myself grow wet with anticipation.

  We ate dinner shortly after, chatting about everything and nothing in particular. It was as if we were magically comfortable with each other, so much so that talking about the random things in our lives came naturally.

  “That was delicious,” I told him after dinner. “What’s for dessert?” I asked.

  He stared at me, the look of pure hunger apparent before he stood and held his hand out for me to take. Only after I automatically placed my hand in his did he say, “You.” I shivered at his touch and his words. Then he led me to his bedroom.

  I sat on his bed as he stood above me, staring down at me. “You look good on my bed. You’ll look even better on it naked.” Leaning down so that his arms rested on the bed on either side of me, he brushed his lips against mine so gently that it almost tickled. Once, twice, but on the third time, he kissed me hard, his tongue swirling with mine. My hands instinctively flew to his head, finding themselves buried in his hair as I tried to pull him closer somehow.

  “Nolan,” I whispered his name against his lips.

  He breathed me in before pulling back to stand once again. He stared at me for a moment before his hands found the edge of my dress, and then he crouched down so that he was on the floor between my legs, his hands pulling my dress higher and higher as his fingers trailed along my thighs. “I’ve been dying to see you, to see all of you since the moment I laid eyes on you. Tell me, Lise, tell me I can. Tell me I can rip this dress off you right now. Please,” he begged. “Please tell me you’re mine. Please don’t tell me to stop because I will, but damn if I don’t want to.”

  “Don’t stop,” I told him. “Please Nolan, don’t stop,” I said on a panting breath as his fingers grew closer and closer to my wetness. One more centimeter and he’d feel just how much I didn’t want him to stop.

  “Oh, thank Christ,” he said and pulled my dress up my thighs, revealing my lace panties that left little to the imagination. “These are coming off now,” he said as he pulled them gingerly over my legs, leaving me exposed. “So wet,” he said. “So fucking beautiful,” he added as he stared at me. “I’m going to lick you until you scream my name, then I’m going to do it again. But after that, I’m going to pull your dress and bra off before I suck on each nipple with my fingers in your pussy, pushing in and out, making you grow impossibly needy and begging for my cock. And only when you’re on the verge of your third orgasm will I stop so I can be inside you, feeling you clench around me, milking me, forcing me to come so hard inside you that I’ll never want to leave.”

  I could have come right then and there just from his words, and I think he knew that because I saw a smile tug at the corner of his lips before he dived right in, his tongue finding my clit. I fell back on the bed, my back arching as I screamed out his name. It was embarrassing how quickly I felt my climax build, but he didn’t let up. Not even when I cried out or tried to push him away. He planted a hand firmly on my stomach, keeping me there as his tongue continued its assault on me. It wasn’t long before I was writhing beneath him, screaming his name once again. And then he did exactly as he promised. He stood, and somehow wrangled me from my dress and bra. His lips found mine before he trailed kisses down my neck, finding one nipple and promptly sucking it. I felt his fingers tease me, and it was too good, too much. “Please,” I begged, but I wasn’t sure if I was begging him to stop or keep going. He found my slit, and I felt one finger slip in slowly, thrusting in and out. His mouth traveled to my other nipple, nipping at it lightly, causing a moan to escape my lips. He slipped in another finger, this time moving quicker, and one finger curved just a bit, hitting a spot inside me I didn’t know existed.

  No other man existed. Everyone who came before him were boys. He wiped away their memory, and he had yet to be inside me.

  Nolan … like a classic watchmaker, needing the perfect precision, was fine-tuning me, finding every gear, every disc in its perfect place, listening to the quiet hum of the watch’s dial to make sure it was running right. And I was … with Nolan as my watchmaker, I was running exactly right. It was impossible not to.

  I felt my climax building, but apparently, he did too because he pulled out abruptly, and I felt the loss immediately. Almost like a cartoon movie, his clothes were off in seconds, and I heard the telltale sign of a condom wrapper being torn open. I didn’t get to fully appreciate the sight of his body because he was on top of me, and I reveled in the feeling of his hard body pressing into mine.

  “So fucking perfect,” he said as he pushed inside. “So tight. God, Lise,” he groaned as I felt him move slowly to allow me to adjust to his girth. Even with how wet I was, I could feel just how big he was. I didn’t even need to see it to know he filled me to the brim and then some.

  “Nolan, please,” I said as I wrapped my legs around his back, allowing him to go deeper. He moaned and started to move slowly, but then it was like he couldn’t control himself, and he began to thrust faster.

  It was like nothing I’d experienced before, the bundle of nerves that had been begging for release just moments before were begging for it even more now.

  “Let go, Lise,” he said. “Let go so I can feel you around me.”

  I couldn’t hold back any longer, and my orgasm rocked through me like my own personal earthquake, 8.0 on the Richter scale.

  And then I felt Nolan let go before he collapsed half on me, half on the bed beside me.

  “God, Lise … that was … that was something else,” he said into my hair. He popped up and looked at me, staring into my eyes. “Everything I imagined. That blew it all away. But now that I’ve had you …” He didn’t finish the sentence, and I didn’t ask him to. I was afraid of what he’d say, afraid of what he didn’t say.

  “It’s never been like that,” I told him, hoping to steer him away from his own thoughts, and it was the truth.

  “Good,” he said. “Give me a few minutes, and we’ll go for round two. But this time, we’ll go slow so I can savor every bit of you.”

  “A few minutes?” I asked.

  His eyes trailed my body for a moment before he smirked. “Make that two.”

  I chuckled in response, but then he leaned over and captured my lips, causing my laughter to die.

  And just two minutes later, he did as he promised. Then he did it again, and once more before we drifted off to sleep.

  I only had a few thoughts in my head before my eyes closed for the night. That I’d be sore the next day, but a good sore. That I felt truly and utterly desired. But most importantly, that I felt precious. Somehow, through it all, Nolan made me feel special. And I knew, with absolute certainty, that if this continued, I was totally screwed. Pun not intended.

  I WOKE TO the feel of languid kisses along my neck. I smiled with my eyes still closed, enjoying the feel of
Nolan’s warm and tender lips on my skin, his scruff lightly tickling me.

  He must have realized I was awake because I heard a mumbled, “Good morning,” against my neck. I giggled in response.

  “What a good morning it is,” I said after I opened my eyes.

  I hadn’t had the time to truly appreciate Nolan’s body the first time our bodies came together, but I had plenty of time to stare at him the rest of the evening, and stare I did, with my mouth hanging open and a bit of drool forming at the corners. College boys, while immature compared to Nolan, tended to be built well. All those frat boys worked out together, perfecting their abs to showcase any chance they got. But somehow, Nolan put them all to shame. It was as if some famous architect had designed his body, using the straightest edge he could find to define every single line in his beautiful body. He was rougher too, but in a good way, like a rugged man, knowing how to do hard labor while also looking good in a tux.

  I took a moment to appreciate the way his back muscles rippled as his head traveled the length of my collarbone. It was almost unfair how good he looked … almost. It would only truly be unfair if I had never gotten to experience all that was Nolan. Even if we parted ways right now and knowing I was ruined for all men after him, at least I’d know what true pleasure was like.

  He pulled his lips away from my skin to stare at me. “Beautiful, even in the morning,” he said more to himself than to me, but I blushed at his compliment. “I would have made breakfast,” he told me, “but I couldn’t bring myself to leave this bed with you in it.” He smiled and so did I. “I guess I should feed you, though, huh?” He looked momentarily like a little boy, and I couldn’t help but feel my heart clench at his boyishness.

  I opened my mouth to answer when my stomach rumbled. “I guess you should,” I said, and he chuckled.

  “Fine, fine,” he said reluctantly but with a smirk as he got out of bed and put a pair of running shorts on. “Breakfast but then back to bed,” he said with a wink. “Or shower. Running my hands along your body, washing every inch of you, soap dripping down between your legs as I slide my fingers in and out. Yeah, definitely shower,” he told me, and I was already anticipating that shower. Then he sat down on the bed before me, and his eyes bored into mine with an intensity I’d already come to know in our short time together was something he did when he wanted to be truly heard. “I’ve never seen a woman in the morning. They were always long gone, or I was always long gone by then. I’ve never asked anyone to pack an overnight bag. I never cooked them dinner, and I sure as hell never made them breakfast. So, if you had any doubts about what this was, and whether this was purely sex, it’s not.” I nodded in response because I had no words.

  He nodded too, kissed me quickly, and then stood and headed to the kitchen.

  I threw on one of his discarded shirts and made my way to the kitchen to watch him make breakfast. We ate in comfortable silence before he led me to the shower and did exactly as he’d promised. The downfall? We had to take another shower after, and I was almost late to my class. The upside? I didn’t care because it was worth it.

  “Spill,” Stephanie said the minute I walked in the door later that evening. So I did. I told her the details of our night and our morning, including his words.

  “Damn, Anna,” she said with a whistle. “You have a magic vagina or something? Sounds like the guy is already head over heels for you.”

  “Honestly, not that I’m complaining, but I have to wonder how much of his desire is because we have a connection and how much of it was because I turned him down initially. People want what they can’t have. Guys like a challenge. I was a challenge. And now what?”

  “It’s more than that,” she assured me.

  “Maybe. I mean, it felt like more, but how can that be? We’ve known each other less than two weeks, and we’ve only been on two dates. Is it really possible to feel something for someone this quickly?”

  “Are you talking about love?” she asked.

  “No,” I said as I shook my head. “I just mean strong feelings, like when you truly like someone and can see yourself going forward with this person. I basically just made sure a guy was nice and I wasn’t bored before I went on another date with him. If he was still nice and I still wasn’t bored, he got another date, and so on. And at some point, we just naturally had sex because that’s what people do when they’re dating. But this … this was intense and something on a different level. Maybe I’m just attracted to his presence, or the way he seems kind of otherworldly, and it’s clouding my judgment. And maybe he’s just not used to having to work to get a girl.”

  “How many times have you heard someone say, ‘when you find the right person, you’ll know’? This just means you might have found the right person. Stop analyzing it so much and just enjoy it. If it’s meant to be, it’ll be.”

  “Okay, oh wise one,” I said, trying to lighten the mood and also trying to absorb her words and just let it be. “I’ll just enjoy having hot sex with my own personal Adonis.”

  “Are you trying to make me envious?”

  “Is it working?”

  “Yes, but I’m okay with it as long as you keep letting me live vicariously through you.”

  “Deal.”

  I spent the rest of the evening doing some homework, hanging out with Stephanie, and texting back and forth with said Adonis. He’d wanted to hang out, but I truly needed the evening to finish my work, so we’d made plans for the following day. I went to bed that night thinking of him, of his words, his body, and the way we fit together, yet I couldn’t help but think of Stephanie’s words. Was he my “right person”? I guess only time would tell.

  YOU KNOW WHAT happened when you saw someone almost every day for a month straight? You got very close, very quickly. That was Nolan and me, and it was something I hadn’t anticipated.

  When I dated my fellow college students, we’d see each other a few times a week because, generally, college students had flexible schedules. But even then, we had homework assignments, midterms, and even finals. There were social events, time to hang out with friends, and even just days to sit at home and relax. It generally took me months before I felt like I was truly an “item” with someone I dated.

  But Nolan came in like a storm that didn’t let up, forcing me to be caught in the rain. Apparently, I liked the rain. In fact, the more it poured, the more I wanted to get rid of the umbrella and let it wash over me as I twirled around and sang “Singing in the Rain.” All I needed was a good pair of tap shoes, and I was good to go.

  I felt like we’d compressed six months’ worth of dating into a single month.

  I knew little nuances about him that I’m sure partners didn’t learn for years. Such as how he tended to put hangers backward on the bar; instead of the little curved edge facing away from you, it faced toward you, making it take a few extra seconds to get it off the bar. I laughed the first time I saw him do this. He just shrugged.

  He liked coffee with a sugar cube rather than loose granules. I called him a grandma when I saw this. “I’ll show you grandma,” he said with a laugh as he grabbed me in a fireman’s hold and carried me back to bed, showing me exactly how he wasn’t a grandma.

  He missed his mom, even if he tried to act tough when he spoke about her. It was the way the corners of his mouth would turn down and the light dimmed from his eyes. And he’d follow up whatever comment he made with, “It was a long time ago.” But it felt like he was trying to convince himself more than me.

  He was wealthier than he came off to be. Though he lived in a modest home, drove a nice but not over-the-top car, and even had a decent collection of T-shirts from places like Target and Gap, he also had an original Monet in his office. He wore suits I was sure cost five thousand a piece, along with other designer clothing items and shoes. And the couple of times we went shopping together, he never looked at price tags. It didn’t matter if the clothing item was five dollars or five hundred dollars. If he liked it, he bought it. This was
a luxury most folks didn’t have. I had a cutoff price for clothes, even if I splurged on a few purses. They were my weakness, and my credit card didn’t like me when I saw a purse I couldn’t put down. But I told myself it was worth it.

  His phone never stopped dinging, even in the middle of the night. “We deal with people all over the world in different time zones,” he’d explained to me regarding his family’s business. I knew they exported and imported goods, but that was about it. I gathered they did well for themselves. And luckily, I was a heavy sleeper, so even when his phone went off, I didn’t hear it.

  So it was no wonder I realized I cared about Nolan a great deal more than I’d ever cared about a guy I dated, even after only a month of dating.

  That scared me, though, because even though I was sure he did care about me, I was his first real relationship, and we hadn’t really had “the talk” to determine exactly what we were. Was I his girlfriend? Were we simply just dating exclusively with no possibility for a future? Was there an expiration on our relationship?

  I needed to guard my heart because I was pretty sure I was falling for him, if I hadn’t already. I told myself I hadn’t. I even told Stephanie I hadn’t when she said, “Man, you have it bad.” This was after I’d been home on one of my rare nights away from Nolan. Stephanie and I sat in front of the TV, watching a show we both liked on Netflix and eating Chinese food straight from the containers.

  “Luckily, we live together, or I don’t think I would have seen you at all this month,” Stephanie joked, but it was totally true. “Not that I’m complaining,” she added quickly so I would know she wasn’t upset with me for slacking off on my side of our friendship. “I mean, I miss you, but I’m happy you found someone who can’t stand being away from you. It’s pretty romantic,” she said with a smile. I found myself smiling right back at her, my thoughts on Nolan and a dreamy look undoubtedly transforming my face.