I Love My Hope (Nicole's Erotic Romance) (10 page)

Oh no!
What time is it? I bolt upright and search the room for my phone, but
it’s
nowhere in sight. The covers get thrown as I spring out
of bed and run into the bathroom to find my phone where I left it sitting on
the side of the bathtub, obscured by a towel crumbled over it. When I see that
it’s 12:46 p.m. I drop the phone onto the floor causing a loud CRACK as the
screen breaks into thin spider-web lines.

“NOOOOO!!!!!”
I grab and rub at them. Of course there’s nothing I can do. The damage is
permanent. “Dammit!”

There’s
no time to mourn, he’s going to be here in a forty-five minutes.

How am I
going to do this? I should cancel. I don’t want to go. How can I face this man
knowing that I still have feelings for Michael? But don’t I have feelings for
him, too? This is such a mess! What am I going to do? Oh no! I don’t even have
his phone number. I can’t cancel!!

With the
toothbrush sticking out of my mouth and me frothing like I’ve got rabies
– which I might as well have– I change into five different pairs of
jeans, throwing each on the bed as they fail to impress me, until I settle on
one. Then eight shirts – yes, eight –bounce on and off my body
until I settle on a striped sweater that’s super soft. The mint begins to burn
my tongue off, so I run for the sink and spit hard, coughing. Because I waited
too long and some got in my throat, gag reflex ensues and I am in hell.

I look at
my reflection, eyes watering, and think
,
I need help.

Running,
I search for my phone. I dial Amber’s number as quick as I can, saying as it
rings, “Come on. Come on. Come on.”

“Hello?”

“Amber!”

“Yes! What’s
wrong
?!
”

“Mark is
on the way over and Michael followed us home last night and he came in and
kissed me and then I bit him and he ran off like he always does! What do I do
?!
”

“Wait!
Let me get this straight!”

“Okay.”

“You and
Mark hit it off?”

“Yes.
Totally. He’s amazing.”

“That’s
so great!”

“Amber!
Focus!”

“Right.
Okay, Michael followed you. What a bastard! How was the kiss?”

“Amber!”

“Shit.
Sorry! Okay, did Mark see Michael?”

“No. At
least, I don’t think so. God, I hope not.”

“Did
Michael see Mark?”

“Yes!
That’s what I’m trying to tell you!”

“No
– you’re trying to tell me that you’re about to throw away a date with a
good man because a married man – MARRIED MAN – came to your house
and kissed you.”

I stop
pacing and think on this. “I see your point.”

“Slap
your face for me, would you please?” I give my face a loud slap. “Good. Now go
on the date and forget all about the married man for ONE DAY. If you hate Mark
after, you can pick your misery back up, right where you left it.”

A little
puff of air that wishes it were a laugh, escapes from my lips. “You’re
incredible.”

“Don’t
think I’ve forgotten you brought Josh with you last night.”

“Shit.
Yeah. Sorry about that.”

A knock
sounds on my door.

I hiss
into the phone, “He’s here!! He’s here!” jumping around
like
a maniac.

“Then go
open the door and be your beautiful, charming self! And consider yourself the
luckiest woman on the planet because that man is
hot!!!”

“Thank
you, Amber. You saved me.”

“Yeah.
I’m good like that. Now go! I’m hanging up!” The phone goes dead. Oh, the
little wise-ass knew I was procrastinating.

I yell
out, “Be right there!!!! One minute!” and run back into the bathroom to brush
on a bit of mascara and some lip-gloss. This’ll do. “Coming!” I grab some red,
laceless
Converse sneakers and run, sliding around a corner
in my socks.

Assuming
a stance of poise and calm, I walk slowly to the door and open it, with a nice,
cool and collected, normal smile. Mark stands with his feet hip-width apart,
one hand comfortably in his gray jeans pocket, the other holding a bouquet of
purple roses, his eyes twinkling. The purple is exact same shade I used in my
painting.

He leans
against the doorframe. “I didn’t know there was such a thing as purple roses.
But I also didn’t know there was such as thing as you.”

The shoes
drop from my hands and I reach for the flowers. I bring them to my face and
close my eyes, drinking in their sweet scent. I peek up at him with my face
buried. The calm energy of him disintegrates my anxiety as though it were a
figment of my imagination, a dream that fades away. Like he woke me up.

I tell
him, “Purple is my favorite color. Did you know it’s the color of the soul?”

His
expression is open and unassuming. “I didn’t know that. I just thought these
were very
you
.”

“I just
have to put my shoes on. Would you like to come in?”

He smiles,
pushes off the doorframe, and walks in, closing the door behind him. “I’ll put
those in some water if you want.”

“That’d
be great, thank you. The kitchen is in there.”

He walks
past me, and soon I hear the water running. I look over at my paintings as I
slide on my sneakers. They’re in the same order Michael left them. Thinking
about his face as he sifted through them, gives me pause.

“So,
where are we going again?” I call out, listening to a cabinet open as he
searches for a vase. “They’re above the fridge.”

“Thanks,”
Mark calls back.

It takes
effort, but I push the image of Michael away. Putting on my coat, I pull it
tightly around me against the chilling memory and walk to the kitchen to see Mark
standing there, dwarfing the already small space, and holding a simple,
tear-shaped vase.

“This
good?” he asks, looking over his shoulder at me.

“Perfect.”

I watch
as he fills it with water. His shoulders are broad on his tall figure.
His back is covered by a jacket
, but I can tell it’s defined
by the way the fabric pulls when he reaches over to turn off the faucet. The lines
of his jeans make me weak in the knees as they shift with his every movement,
and I can feel myself getting wet, the tingles in my panties, distracting me.

I step
forward to help. “
Here.
”

Our
shoulders touch as we move the stems, searching for the most appealing
arrangement. We glance at each other several times, the chemistry palpably
intense. My skin flushes hot when his fingers accidentally brush mine and he
catches my eyes and gives me a wink.

“Hey
you.”

I smile.
“Hey yourself.”

Behind
his eyes, something shifts. The little gold flecks come alive. Fiery. Intense.
My reserve rips away and I grab onto his head as he lunges to take my mouth in
a ravenous kiss. Our bodies mash together, waking up the animals inside us. He
tears off his jacket as I tear at my sweater, pulling it impatiently over my
head so I can kiss him again as fast as possible. Our mouths jam back together,
gasping and starving. I grab for his belt and he plucks open my bra with one
snap. Our tongues lash inside each other’s mouths as we test just how far we
can go without coming up for air. He manages to shove his hand down the front
of my jeans and under my panties, fast. I unzip his pants and grab for him,
massaging the hard length of his cock furiously as I pull it out, pushing the
fabric out of my fucking way. I throw my leg around his hip while he pushes his
middle finger up inside me and makes me scream out in his mouth. He won’t let
me pull away, kissing me furiously, latched onto my lips. I gnaw on his tongue
and stroke his cock, grab for his balls and hold them. He releases my mouth and
yells out, then curls forward, biting and sucking on my breasts as I lean back,
baring them to him to do with as he pleases. He licks them. Breathes on them.
Heats them up with his tongue, teasing my nipples with his teeth as he vibrates
his hand in my jeans. His face is buried in my chest, and I grab on his head
and bury
my
face in his hair,
breathing in the sweet scent of shampoo mingled with man, kissing the top of
his head repeatedly as I gasp under his caresses, “I need you, Mark.”

He
growls, scoops me off the floor and carries me to my bedroom. His mouth devours
mine, breaking free only long enough to say,
“
Not as
much as I need you.”

He kicks
open the door, throws me several feet through the air, onto the bed. I bounce
and stare at him, amazed. He wrenches his pants off over his perfect ass, his cock
standing up, full and gorgeous. His eyes lock on mine as he climbs on all fours
onto the bed, a muscular beast coming to take me. Every inch of him is muscle
that rolls with his approach. His shoulders are beautiful, his chest sculpted
to perfection. His lungs rise up and down with passion. He wrenches off my
jeans and panties, staring at me, just before he burrows his face between my
legs. He gives me one long lick that makes me quiver. Then he takes my clit
between his teeth and breathes hot air onto my pussy’s soft, sensitive, silky
skin. I wrap my legs around his head and move with his tongue, bringing myself
to my first orgasm, quickly. He slides his tongue inside me, pushing it in as I
scream out again and again.

He jumps
up and mounts me, pushing in the tip of his cock, and locking onto my eyes with
a ferocity that makes me go wild inside. “Fuck me!” I moan and grab onto his shoulders
to wrap my legs around his waist, bringing my ass up to him. He pushes in more,
then more and more, until he’s all the way inside me. Our eyes don’t let go. I
am enraptured by everything he is. By the way he looks at me. By the way he
fucks me like his animal has been freed. By the way his body moves in mine,
completing me. By the way mine opens up to receive him. By the way his tongue
tastes in my mouth when he comes down for long, slow kisses as he hammers into
me.

By the
way his need for me matches mine, for him.

He
reaches under and lifts me up to a sitting position on his lap, my legs around
his waist, his knees bent beneath me, his cock buried deep. I ride him like
this, loving the power of his hips as he meets me halfway, the strength of his
hands on my ass as he lifts me in perfect matching time. He bends and reaches
for my breasts with his mouth, finding and teasing them. Beads of sweat roll
down his huge, strong back and I slide my fingers around, pressing in. He
twists and moans and comes up to kiss me, saying huskily, “You’re so wet. I can
feel you dripping.” I breathe, “I’m on the pill. I promise. Please don’t pull
out.” He buries his face into the curve of my neck and says, “I won’t” as I
grab onto his hair and scream from the next shocking wave of orgasmic pleasure
lashing through my body. Our mouths come together as the walls inside me begin
to shake and vibrate with an orgasm as deep as I’ve ever felt. I yell out as he
pulls me closer to him, undulating his hips. “Oh god,” he moans, twisting against
me. His body jerks once and his cock presses hard inside me as my inner walls
grip him tightly again and again in delicious contractions. A primal yell rips from
him. He grips his arms around me so tight I can’t breathe, his body quaking,
plunging into me over and over. He yells out again, his chest and mine panting
together, struggling to breathe as we come down from the high, nuzzling and
kissing. I pull away from the kiss, first. I put my forehead to his and try to
focus. He smiles that warm smile; the animal resting, Mark back in its place.

I’m
overwhelmed and don’t know what to say to him. This wasn’t like the sex I’ve
been having. This was raw. I feel transparent. I was who I really am for the
first time outside of painting. This was my first time with another human being
where I felt like I wasn’t hiding anything, wasn’t trying to be anything. I was
wholly and completely me
;
raw and wicked and sweet and
true.

“Thank
you,” he smiles.

My
fingers drift up through his hair. “For what?”

“For
spending your Saturday with me.”

I give
him a hug, holding him tightly, my head on his chest. “You’re welcome.”

He rests
his cheek on the top of my head and we stay like this for
awhile
,
absorbing it.

I say
silently to my angel,
Thank you for not
giving me his number. If I’d had it, this wouldn’t be happening. I would have
bailed out.

“Let’s go
see the city,” I say, softly.

“Okay.”
He kisses the top of my head and lifts me up off of him. We both groan as our
bodies separate.

“I’m
going to get cleaned up,” I say, sliding off the bed as he watches me, stretching
out and lying on his side, propped up on an elbow. I look back and take in the
breathtaking sight of him. “I could paint how you look right now.”

“Me? Look
at you.” He laughs and shakes his head.

I grin
and go into the bathroom, close the door and clean myself off. “Will you hand
me my clothes?” I call out.