The Proposal (11 page)

Fighting the desire to
kiss her, Ethan reminded himself that she was probably under the influence of
too much alcohol. "I've had a great time Nadine."  He had seen
both sides to her, the hard-working company career woman and now also the
softer, more relaxed one.

They walked silently hand
in hand, not needing to talk. Time slowed down and above them, on a balmy July
evening, the stars sparkled, dotting the sky in a haphazard fashion.

They came to a large
garden wall on either side of which were symmetrical double flights of stairs
leading to another garden terrace above. They walked up, still hand in hand and
as they stepped into the garden, the view before them was breathtaking. Richly
decorated frescoes adorned the walls all around them. There was a large area,
almost like a patio, in the middle of which was a huge stone statue, of an
angel with wings. The sound of water could be heard coming from the middle and
as they walked over towards the circular balustrade and leant over, they saw
below them a beautiful water fountain, lit up with lilac and blue lights,
illuminating the water magnificently.

Nadine and Ethan stared
down at the water fountain, mesmerized by the violet, lilac and blue hues of
light thrown onto the fountain. They heard the soothing gush of the water as it
cascaded down from the natural looking rock basin, back into the fountain
below. It was overwhelming in its beauty. Ethan put his arms around Nadine and
stood behind her, wrapping her up and holding her securely. She felt warm and
tender in his embrace, feeling his strong, muscular body against her back. She
clasped her hands over his, wrapping her arms over his. They both stood still
together and lost in their own thoughts.

This night could not have
been any more perfect. If she never had another evening like this, she would
never want for anything more. Overcome by her emotions, Nadine loosened her
arms and swiveled around to face Ethan, even though his arms were still around
her. She looked up at him and pulled his head towards hers, and kissed him,
slowly, lightly. Wary of the effects of alcohol on her and not wanting to rush
into anything, Ethan brushed his lips against Nadine's. He moved his head back
and looked into her eyes.

He wanted to make sure it
wasn't the drink making all the moves.

When she moved in for
another kiss, he dropped his head towards hers and kissed her passionately. His
tongue seeking out hers as their bodies swayed ever tightly together. They
kissed hungrily, her mouth leaving small kisses along his jaw line then gently
nibbling his ears.

He took her face in both
of his hands and kissed her again and again and again. The urgency was building
up as their bodies writhed against each other. Their kissing had sparked a
strong wave of desire that tumbled along their bodies which were caught up in a
dance of their own. They kissed for ages. The pent-up desire and feelings they
had had for each other all came to a head here, in their own private paradise.

Ethan pulled away slowly,
and looked deep into Nadine's eyes. "I’ve been wanting to do that since we
first met," he said quietly, cupping her head with his hand and feeling
her soft hair.

"Don't stop,"
moaned Nadine, she sought out his lips again and kissed him with a fever that
surprised even her. He lowered his head and kissed her along her neck, letting
his lips glide over her collarbone and drawing out delicious sighs and sounds
from Nadine's lips. Their fingers intertwined as she arched her back, jutting
out her chest hoping that his lips would travel downwards. But he stopped just
short of her collarbone. It was hard, to break away. He moaned in agony to pull
himself away but knew it was the right thing to do. He wanted Nadine as he had
wanted no other woman before.

But he needed to know
that this was what she wanted too.

"Why are you backing
off?" she asked innocently, her eyes glazed over with desire and her
breathing fast.

"You drive me crazy
Nadine but I don't want to take advantage of you," he said slowly,
caressing her chin with one hand and tracing the low of her back with the
other. She placed her fingers on either side of his lips, running her thumbs
across them, watching his lips hungrily. She wanted to feel him again.

"I think you need to
cool down, young lady." He tried a different approach, wanting them to
slow things down a little. If they carried on with this intensity, things would
heat up and go from zero to sixty in no time. She pouted, then ran her hands
across his chest, feeling the shape of his body and savoring every crevice and
muscle that she felt. In a hoarse voice she said,  "You were the one
who told me I needed to loosen up remember," she moved  her hands
down to his trouser belt and kept them there, deliberately not moving any
lower. She stretched up and whispered directly into his ears, "Don’t
stop."  Her hands on his belt sent a searing torch of heat through
his body and now her words set fire to the hotbed of emotions he was feeling.
Oh, Nadine, he thought to himself. But instead he said, "I think we need
to cool down a little," he held her hands, playfully intertwining his
fingers in hers.

Nadine's eyes shone
brightly, "You're right! Let's go for a swim!"

"We don't have our
swimsuits," returned Ethan logically, still playing with her fingers.

"We don't need them.
It'll be empty, come on," she led him down the stairs and they walked
quickly retracing the path they came down when they first walked into the Roman
Garden.

The feel of the cool
night air had a sobering effect on them both. They held hands not wanting to be
apart. As they got to the main hotel doors, they hesitated. They didn’t want to
run into any other people. They didn’t want to break the golden bubble that was
their world right now.

"This way,"
commanded Ethan, pulling her with him, "There's another entrance this
way." She followed him around the corner, to the building which housed the
Spa and health centre. Usually the way in from the hotel was to go to the
basement via the elevator but the health centre had its own reception which was
also accessible through a separate door on the side. Ethan prayed it would be
open. He looked at his watch. It was ten o'clock. He was sure he had seen the
signs earlier saying this place stayed open until ten thirty though he wasn’t
sure how long this door would be manned for. 

Luckily, there was
someone still at the reception desk. "Hey Luis," said Ethan cheerily.

"Hey Mr. Adams, how
you doing?" a young man, in his mid-twenties, with a long crop of hair,
welcomed Ethan heartily. Ethan had spent most of the day here and they were
well acquainted by now.

"You closing soon
Luis?" he asked easily. Behind him, Nadine giggled like a schoolgirl.

"No sir, we're open
another half hour." Luis replied, looking from Nadine back to Ethan. His
eyes silently congratulating him on his choice of female companion.  As if
anticipating Ethan's next question, he answered, "It's all empty
sir."

Ethan nodded in
gratitude. He pulled Nadine after him and they walked into the swimming pool,
grabbing a couple of towels from the dark wooden shelves along the way.

"You know we have no
swimwear to change into?" Ethan reminded her. They were alone in the pool.
A couple of lights were on, lending an intimate ambiance to the place.

The large rectangular
pool started off shallow at the side nearest to them before gradually becoming
steeper until it was almost twelve foot deep at the other end.

Along the side, on a
raised level were three hot tubs. Nadine stared at them longingly. She looked
at the hot tubs, then turned to Ethan and pulled the dress off over her head,
revealing her lacy black underwear which she kept on.

"I'm not drunk
Ethan," she said slowly. But Ethan was speechless. He stared at her long,
lean body. Her long legs led to slender hips and a delicately small waist,
above which her full breasts were partly covered by a black lacy bra, with
pink bows. The sight of her plunging cleavage rooted Ethan to the floor and
rendered him utterly speechless.  

It was going to be
even harder to resist her here
.
He gaped at her, unable to move his eyes but Nadine enjoyed watching him
watching her. With a playful flick of her fingers on his chest, she jumped into
the water and swam away from him.

The cool feel of the
water soothed her and cooled her hot body. She glided effortlessly, feeling
free and rejuvenated. Another splash behind her told her that Ethan had taken
the plunge too. He swam up behind her and tried to grab her but she swam away.
He swam after her again and they raced up and down the pool.  He caught
her once but she slipped out of his hands and escaped, only to find him
swimming ferociously after her. Soon, their game had exhausted them completely
and Nadine got out of the water, glancing naughtily at Ethan over her shoulder,
as she headed towards the hot tub.

The minute he saw where
she was headed, he got out of the water so fast and almost beat her to it. They
half toppled into the hot tub, with Ethan switching on the bubbles as they sat
across from each other, panting with exhaustion from the swimming.

"You’ve been here
most of the day?" Nadine asked, trying not to let her eyes travel further
down Ethan's body. She placed her arms out on either side of her leaned back
against the hot tub.

Ethan sat forward, alert
and watching her face, her body, enjoying every frame of her image. "I was
here for most of the day. Here and in the gym." He placed his hands palms
down on the edge of the seat and leant forward. "I didn't think for one
minute that I'd end up in the swimming pool, especially with you of all
people."  He was consciously trying to remain where he was and not go
near her, which he really wanted to do.

"Are you glad you
came?" she asked.

"Absolutely."
He kept his hands firmly on the seat, knowing that if he lifted them up, he
would instinctively seek her out. Nadine was glad to hear this. "I wonder
what everyone else is doing?" thought Nadine out loud. She tilted her head
from side to side, stretching out the taut muscles on either side of her neck.

"I don't care what
anyone else is doing," murmured Ethan, suddenly unable to stay put. He
knelt down in the middle of the hot tub, coming closer until their faces were
merely inches apart. He placed his hands on either side of her neck and gently
massaged the back of her head, slowly moving his fingers towards the back of
her ears, then further down, near her shoulder blades. He expertly massaged her
flesh delicately between his thumbs and forefingers, eliciting slow moans and
sighs from Nadine who had closed her eyes and was sinking lower down in her
seat. 

"You're good. Very
good," she murmured and wanted this to never end. He carried on, but
watched her face for signs of what was painful and what was not. She grimaced
when the pressure was hurting and let out more moans when the pressure was
perfect. He moved his hands further down, towards her front, along her collar
bone. Then he leant forward and kissed her gently on the lips.  Nadine
opened her eyes and kissed him right back. He clasped his hands around her
back, and gently guided her towards him. He sat back on his seat and she
straddled him, sitting on his lap, with her legs bent back at the knees on
either side of him. They kissed slowly, gently, and then as the desire overcame
them again, with hunger. She blew soft kisses along his wet chest. He pushed
her wet hair back from her face, and looked at her breasts, now in line with
his face.  Somewhere in the deep recesses of his brain, he tried to
remember that Nadine had had t much to drink but Nadine was driving him mad
with frenzy.  He only knew he did not want to mess things up with her.
Resisting her would be as hard as hell. She kissed him passionately again,
rubbing her body hard against his and he felt the hunger deep inside him.

In the far distance, the
swimming pool doors swung open and a voice from the other end shouted across,
"Mr. Adams, Sir!  Sorry to interrupt sir but I'm locking the door to
the outside. We're closing now sir, sorry."  Sheepishly, Ethan waved
his arm in acknowledgement, before mustering up the words, "Thank you
Luis, we're coming out now!"  Luis waved back and left.

Ethan felt Nadine's arms
around his neck, and she was holding on to him, leaning her face against his
shoulder. It was nice. It felt comfortable. "Hey, please tell me you
haven't fallen asleep on me," he asked, nuzzling the top of her head. 
Nadine moaned, as a way of saying that she was still awake although the laps of
swimming and the hectic day had caught up with her.

"Come on, before
Luis has to come back and physically throw us out," he said as Nadine
unwrapped herself from around him. They climbed out of the hot tub and walked
back to get their clothes, quickly putting them over their wet bodies.

"Thank you
Luis," said Ethan, shaking hands with him as they walked out.  Nadine
managed a small smile and avoided catching the attendant’s eye.

As they got to the end of
the hallway, they looked through the small glass windows of the door that led
out to the basement lobby.  It was empty, as it would have been at this
time of night. They walked out to the elevator, praying silently that they
wouldn't bump into anyone from the company as it stopped on different floors on
the way up.