Pulse 2 (Pulse Series) (23 page)

“
Fuck… me…”

The whimpers came out of my mouth in a slow stutter. I could only see half of his face in the darkness. He looke
d into my eyes, still punishing me with his fingers. But he reacted like he didn’t hear what I said.

“
What?” he moaned. “Say it again, Alice.”

“
Please…”

I begged him. I wanted him desperately. It had felt like an eternity since I last had him. He pulled hi
s hand away from my panties then gripped them. With a violent tug, he tore the fabric from my body. I gasped at the sudden movement then lost my breath in his mouth as he engaged me in another kiss. He wrapped his arms around me then picked me up off of the ground. He carried me through his suite into the darkness of the bedroom. I fell onto the bed in nothing but my heels as Rafael took his position on top of me.

I spread my legs in anxious anticipation. I couldn
’t see him clearly but felt him just at my entrance. He pushed himself deep into me and a whimper escaped from my lips. Inside of me, Rafael began pumping in and out with long and deep strokes. I reached up and gripped his arms. I held onto his flexed triceps like they were two massive columns.

He g
runted and worked up a sweat in only a matter of moments. I writhed against the mattress like I was looking for some escape from the pleasure that was racking my body. I didn’t know what to do with myself. My hands were grasping at his sweating body. My heels dug into the mattress. My breasts shook in rhythm with each of his strokes. My moans were an indescribable mix of whimpers and heavy breaths.

“
Ra… Rafael… I… I’m gonna…”

I couldn
’t get the words out. I gripped him tighter and tried to pull him close to me. But I didn’t have the strength. He was too strong and his body was too wet with sweat for me to grip him. He sat up and held my legs in the air while he drove himself into me, pressing his hilt against the base of my ass. His strokes were fast. Our bodies created a rhythmic beat of wet skin slapping against each other.

I closed my eyes tight and sealed my mouth shut. I tightened every muscle in my body, desperate to get over the edge.

Almost…

Rafael pushed me over. I held my breath for a brief second before groaning a sigh of ecstasy that echoed through the room. My moans were stuttered as the orgasm ravaged my body. I tightened my grip on the sheets underneath me. My legs vibrated against his
body. I writhed and spasmed against the bed as the waves from my climax shot through me. He pinned me down onto the mattress and I moved like I was helplessly trying to escape.

My body collapsed against the mattress as my orgasm subsided. But Rafael wasn
’t finished. He pounded me furiously to let me know how bad he wanted to join me in my climax. I looked down and watched him. His body glistened with sweat. His muscles tensed. He gripped both of my legs and held them in the air as he continued to drive himself into me.

He stared hard at me. Our eyes locked upon another. I was doing everything I could to will him into his orgasm. I wanted him to come deep inside of me. I wanted every last drop.

With a few hard pumps, his body tightened as he started to come. He remained staring hard at me, a slow and controlled breath emitting from between his lips. His body jerked in a steady rhythm. Each time he pushed into me, he filled me with another line of his seed. I tightened myself around him and milked him for every last drop.

When he pulled out of me, there was a loud smacking sound of our fluids. My legs collapsed onto the mattress and Rafael laid next to me. I leaned over and kissed him on the lips then rested my head upon his chest. I let out a contented sigh as
I tried to catch my breath. The sound of Rafael’s heart beating thumped against my ear as his chest rose and fell.

“
We should have gone out with Wesley and Travis,” I said to him.

“
Why is that?”

“
It’s still early. We have the rest of the night to ourselves. Now what are we going to do?”

“
I can think of something.”

“
I know you can,” I said as I giggled. “But I’m talking about in-between… you know…”

I turned my head and looked up at him. Rafael shifted his eyes up to the ceiling as if he was searching for som
ething.

“
What are you thinking about?” I asked him.

“
You’re right,” he replied. “We should do something. And I’ve got just the thing.”

Chapter 24

When Rafael and I had sex, I didn’t have the energy for anything else afterward. Usually, I would just lay around and try to regain my strength. Sometimes we would sleep. Sometimes we would lie around and wait until it was that time again. He had a sexual energy that was immeasurable. Of course, I did everything I could to match it. I never enjoyed not being with Rafael. But now that we were together without having to hide it from anybody else, it was different. I felt like I was even more relaxed.

I sat there in the hot tub just across from him. Just like the rest of the suite, the tub was more luxurious than your
standard fare. It was cushioned so that it was comfortable to sit in. The massaging jets blew water against my muscles in a way that was enjoyable as well as therapeutic. I looked across the bubbles at Rafael as I took a sip from a glass of champagne.

“
How come we never used the tub before?” I asked him.

“
Because we usually just shower together. Is this better?”

“
I enjoy the showers. But this is different. It’s… relaxing.”

“
That’s the point.”

He laughed at me and I smiled back at him.

“I know,” I said. “I know. I know. But it feels like a new experience. Being here with you… and just sitting in the water. I just wish I could have done this with you in the Pacific…”

I remembered everything that happened in Hawaii. Rafael knew what I was thinking and he slo
wly started nodding his head.

“
I did everything I could to see you,” he said.

“
I know you did.”

“
I was busy. And when I wasn’t, I couldn’t sneak around with anybody catching me. If I disappeared for more than a few minutes, people would be looking for me. If they caught me in your room…”

“
They caught us anyway.”

“
Yeah. But you wanted to be caught. That’s the difference.”

We shared another l
augh. As I thought about what I did, all of the memories came back to me.

“
I remember it,” I said. “I remember it with perfect clarity. The looks on their faces. You should have seen them.”

“
I remember, Alice,” he said as he smiled. “I was there.”

“
I know,” I said as I began to laugh. “But none of them compared to yours. You were…”

“
Furious. I was paralyzed. I didn’t know what to do. It was the most embarrassing thing I’d ever had done to me.”

“
Yeah, it’s good to hear that one of my kisses made you feel that bad.”

“
I didn’t mean it in that way. It was just so unexpected. But I’m glad you did it. These emotions I had inside of me… They were just bottled up. After dealing with all of the shareholders and talking with the board, I finally had a moment to sort out my feelings. I know that you needed to do it. But
I
needed it even worse. If you didn’t do something, I would have eventually.”

“
Yeah…”

I placed the glass of champagne down next to me then looked out through the window. The city was alive like it usuall
y was on a Friday night. We were high up in a penthouse suite so everything looked tiny, even some of the other buildings. I felt like I was on top of the world.

“
I’m still sorry about what I did,” I said. “Wesley and Travis didn’t deserve to be punished like me. I robbed them of a rare opportunity.”

“
Maybe. But it’s not your fault, Alice. It was mine.”

I shook my head.

“What?” I asked. “What are you talking about?”

“
I’m the one who hired you,” he said. “I never should have done it. I remember when you stepped inside of my office and I saw you. I thought that I could make it work and separate you from the woman I was sleeping with. It was foolish of me to think that. Everything you did just made me realize that you were more than the woman I met in the club that night.

“
So, don’t blame yourself for what happened to Wesley and Travis. I’m the one who put them in this position. All you did was… exactly what I wanted you to do. I just didn’t realize it until now. This is for the best.”

“
Do you really think that? Do you really think Wesley and Travis are okay with this?”

“
I spoke to them at dinner before you arrived. They understood the situation completely. Wesley was just as relieved as he seemed. And Travis was never 100-percent confident in my judgment. I’m probably the only one who believed they were capable. People think I’m crazy because of it.”

I looked out into the city as I listened to everything Rafael said to me. There was nothing he could say to stop me from regretting everything. I just couldn
’t shake the guilt away.

As I enjoyed the comforts of the warm water, Rafael moved across toward me and leaned up close to me. He kissed me on the cheek as he ran his hand along my back. He slowly massaged my skin, trailing his fingers against me underneath the wa
ter. I sighed with contentedness, still thinking about all of the consequences.

“
On the last night of the conference, after the last meeting, Cheryl invited me up to her room.”

I swallowed anxiously. I didn
’t even consider the details of what Rafael did or didn’t do. Part of the reason I never asked him was because of how close I got with Dante.

“
What happened?” I asked.

“
She came onto me. Just like she always did. She said I’d been acting strange. It wasn’t like the usual conferences when we would spend time together. So, she pulled me away from everybody else and finally got me alone. She dropped her clothes and showed me everything. She’s…”

“
Remarkable. I saw her on the beach.”

“
Yeah,” he said as he chuckled. “She kissed me, Alice.”

My eyes remained locked upon the view but I was hanging on every word. I didn
’t want to hear what he was about to tell me. I didn’t want to hear the intimate details of that night.

“
But something happened,” he said. “It wasn’t the same. It felt wrong.”

I turned and looked at him. He stared into my eyes and I could see something deep inside of him.

“What happened?” I asked.

“
I… didn’t enjoy it. Because all I could think about was you. I wanted her to be you. I refused her and said that I just wanted to be friends.”

“
She must have been pissed.”

“
She was. It was just a fling. She just didn’t understand what harm one night could do. But I did…”

I wanted to laugh. Even though it didn
’t matter, I knew that I would be hurt if he had done something with her. I couldn’t deny how happy I felt inside. I leaned over and kissed him on the lips, wrapping my hands around his face. Then I pulled my head away from him and stared deep into his eyes.

“
I had a similar moment,” I said jokingly. “I—”

“
Whatever you did, it doesn’t matter, Alice. Our relationship, whatever it is, it’s not the same as it was back then. I don’t care about what happened in the past. All I care about is what’s going to happen.”

“
What
is
going to happen between us, Rafael?”

“
I don’t know. I just know that I want to be with you and see where it takes us. No promises. No guarantees. This is what the board wanted for me. It wasn’t just a business decision. They also wanted me to have the freedom to be the man who’s here with you now. I need to find myself. I can only hope that you’ll be there with me.”

I nodded and kissed him again. I couldn
’t ask for anything more at this point. He had chosen me just like I had hoped he would. My feelings for him had grown more and more complicated ever since I’d known him. We had to give it time. Rafael could either be everything I wanted him to be or an illusion like all of the other men in my past.

He kissed me passionately in the middle of the hot tub. I reached down underneath the water and se
arched for his length. His hands caressed my body. I quickly gave-up on trying to sort out my emotions. The desire I had for him returned. And now I had the energy I needed to act upon it.

Chapter 25